Brooch c. 1937

Curator: Here we have Isidore Steinberg's "Brooch," likely conceived around 1937, rendered in a captivating mixed-media approach incorporating watercolor and drawing techniques. It's intriguing to see how he marries media here, don't you think? Editor: It feels precious. There's a vulnerability to the delicacy, almost like catching a dream of opulence rather than the real thing. But the geometric sketches below disrupt the reverie a little, pulling you back to its function. Curator: Precisely! Steinberg captures a sense of longing, almost as if sketching the potential for transformation from a more technical plan, like blueprints for something far grander. I wonder, what strikes you first about the form itself? Editor: Definitely the spiraling volutes—the way they curl inward like tiny breaking waves, or unfurling ferns. They inject movement, counteract the stillness of the page. There's almost a Rococo flourish in the ornamentation. Curator: I think that sense of Rococo fits beautifully. He plays with illusion by mixing clear geometric underdrawings and applying such ornate motifs in the detailed main object. Consider the light and shadow—it lends such weight. Editor: Absolutely, it gives the design a solid, almost sculptural quality. Although, in doing so, he's flattened it too. He's drawing a pin, and there is very little depth shown on the image which forgoes any three-dimensional possibilities. So the composition has very graphic, postmodern qualities at the same time. Curator: An acute observation! One could also explore how the monochromatic groundwork further throws the central design forward. Its isolated presence makes me consider notions of individual adornment but with a muted sense of flair. Editor: Well, now I'm thinking about what such a statement signifies. This piece is simultaneously extravagant in design, yet restrained in expression. I appreciate the duality in it. Curator: It makes it reflective, doesn't it? Almost as if Steinberg is suggesting something intimate, whispering secrets about glamour rather than shouting them. A quiet adornment, which, ironically, has kept me rather intrigued. Editor: Exactly, I feel like that's so rare these days, which perhaps adds to its peculiar charm.