Pewter Teapot 1936

Robert Brigadier drew this ‘Pewter Teapot’ in 1936; you can see the date inscribed at the bottom. I love to imagine the act of making this drawing, the repetitive soft layering of graphite, one mark after another, slowly building up the volume of the teapot. Think of Brigadier thinking, how do I convey the three-dimensional form of this domestic object, giving it weight and volume, and a certain kind of presence? I wonder if he was drinking tea while drawing it? Was it the same teapot? And what kind of pencil did he use? The soft, reflective grey of the teapot emerges through the delicate layering of the pencil marks. Look at the little cross on top of the lid, it seems to anchor the composition. It reminds me of the work of Giorgio Morandi, who spent his life drawing the same bottles over and over again. It’s all about the process of inquiry. The more we look, the more we see.