Pewter Pitcher 1935 - 1942

Editor: Here we have Henry Granet’s "Pewter Pitcher," a pencil drawing created sometime between 1935 and 1942. What strikes me most is its simplicity—just clean lines outlining the form. What do you see in this piece? Curator: It presents us with more than just the outline of a vessel. Think of pewter itself. What does that metal evoke? Beyond its visual appearance, pewter has historically symbolized domesticity and the rituals surrounding food and drink. Granet’s choice elevates a mundane object and suggests a focus on quiet, everyday moments. Does the pitcher strike you as purely functional, or does it hint at something more? Editor: I guess I hadn't considered that the choice of pewter implied anything specific. The lines are so clean, so basic; I took it as an exercise in form. Now I wonder if Granet was imbuing this ordinary object with greater significance. Curator: Precisely. And note how Granet confines the image within a border, a sort of stage. He sets apart this simple drawing as something worthy of contemplation. Does this bordered presentation remind you of other iconographic forms? Editor: It almost looks like an icon in a niche. So, the pitcher becomes a symbol *of* the domestic, of the everyday? Curator: Exactly. It’s not just a pitcher. It becomes an emblem. Everyday life and ritual practices are embedded and reinforced through an ordinary object made transcendent. It reminds us to reflect on objects and reflect what they have to say beyond functionality. Editor: That really shifts how I see it. I went from thinking of this as just a technical exercise to thinking about the cultural weight an object can carry. Thanks!