Silver Pitcher c. 1936

S. Brodsky drew this silver pitcher with graphite, sometime between 1855 and 1995. As an object, the silver pitcher speaks to the rituals of domesticity and class. What’s interesting is that Brodsky would choose such an item as the subject of a drawing. It could be a preparatory sketch for a silversmith or perhaps Brodsky made it for an exhibition at an academy or a submission to a design magazine. The visual codes and cultural references can tell us something about the social conditions that shape artistic production. Research into the artistic conventions and the world of applied arts in the late nineteenth century would provide a better sense of the context for the drawing. The institutional history behind the Silver Gallery, mentioned in the notes at the bottom of the page, might reveal Brodsky’s motivations in depicting this particular object. By looking closely at the archives and understanding the world of art and design at the time, we can better appreciate the role of art in reflecting its time.