Untitled (Vase of Flowers) 1935

Konrad Cramer made this lovely, soft pastel drawing of a vase of flowers some time in the 20th century. The whole thing has a fuzzy, dreamy quality, like a memory or a half-remembered song. I wonder what it was like for Cramer to create this still life? Did he set up the flowers just so, or did they already exist in his studio, catching his eye one afternoon? The black vase really anchors the composition, with its simple curves, while the pastel itself gives this overall sense of lightness and air. The marks feel tentative and exploratory, like he was feeling his way through the image, and pushing and pulling at the colours until they sat just right. I can almost see him, standing back from the paper, squinting, and then moving in again to add another touch, another layer. Isn't that blue grid in the foreground just lovely? This reminds me that we painters are always building on what came before, riffing on old themes, trying to make them new again.