Infant's High Chair c. 1937

This delicate watercolor of an infant’s high chair was made by Mario De Ferrante, who lived from 1898 to 1992. I wonder if it was from life, or from memory? There's a kind of tenderness to the way De Ferrante handles the transparent washes, layering them to build up the form of the chair, to render all those spindles and rungs. You can almost feel the hand of the craftsman who made the original chair, and then De Ferrante, who’s come along later and handled it again in paint. There's a real sense of care, a feeling for the object. It reminds me of the work of other artists who depicted humble, everyday objects, like Giorgio Morandi, but here, the brown hues give it a homey, quiet feel. It’s a celebration of simple design, and also, maybe, a celebration of childhood, of the intimate spaces where we grow and learn. We are all connected through objects like this, aren't we?