Match Safe c. 1936

This drawing of a Match Safe was made by Thomas Holloway sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. He used pen and ink and watercolor over graphite to make it. The restrained palette – mostly just shades of brownish gold – really lets you focus on the details of the design. What I love here is the way Holloway uses line to create the illusion of a reflective surface, describing the form of the match safe while also drawing its engraved ornamentation. It’s so precise, but you can still see the hand of the artist at work, the subtle variations in pressure and speed that give the lines their character. Look at the upper left corner, where the lines start to wiggle and almost dissolve, as if the object itself is about to disappear into thin air. It reminds me a bit of some of the work of Vija Celmins, in the way she uses humble materials to create these incredibly detailed, almost photorealistic images. But where Celmins is all about control, Holloway seems more willing to let the process take over, to embrace the imperfections and accidents that make the drawing feel so alive. It’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, an ongoing exchange of ideas and techniques across time.