Candle Snuffer c. 1936

Alfred Walbeck made this watercolor of a candle snuffer at some point during his long life, which stretched from the mid-19th well into the late 20th century. Look how precisely he’s rendered this object! I can imagine him really taking his time, carefully observing every detail of this metal tool. The shadows, for instance. They suggest a single light source, highlighting each curve and edge. It’s funny, you know, how a simple thing like a candle snuffer, something meant to extinguish light, can become so luminous on paper. Painting, like life, is full of these little ironies. And what about that line drawing, half the size, in the upper left? It's like Walbeck is showing us his workings, sharing his thought process. Artists are always looking, learning, and borrowing from each other, and from the world around them. They are in an ongoing conversation across time, inspiring one another’s creativity.