Candle Holder 1935 - 1942

This ‘Candle Holder’ was made at an unknown date by an anonymous artist, using watercolour and graphite on paper. I like how the anonymous artist isn't afraid of thinness. The washes of purple here are almost timid but so confidently applied that the effect is really powerful. This looks like a study for a craft project, maybe even a template for one. The birds and the holder itself feel like they are floating in space, almost cut and pasted into position. I find myself thinking about Hilma af Klint, another artist unafraid of working with these types of symbolic forms, pushing her own symbolism into the realm of abstraction. Look at the hand drawn zig-zags following the outside of the circle. Such a simple gesture, but it really makes the piece. Art's like that. It's an ongoing conversation between what you thought you knew and what you're about to find out.