Hitchcock Chair 1935 - 1942

This drawing of a Hitchcock Chair was made by Emilio Zito sometime in the 20th Century using pencil. The lines are so delicate, like he’s feeling his way around the form, not trying to capture it exactly. It's a process of discovery. Look at the way he renders the design on the back slat of the chair. It reminds me of the way Cy Twombly would tackle classical motifs with a kind of loose, almost scribbled energy. The surface of the paper has a warmth to it, like aged parchment, which lends the drawing a sense of history, even though it's just a sketch. The weave of the seat is suggested with a flurry of diagonal lines, a real contrast to the measured lines of the frame. The drawing feels incomplete, like a fragment of something larger. It’s a beautiful reminder that art is often about the journey, not the destination.