Andiron (one of pair) c. 1936

This is Hans Korsch's Andiron, made with graphite and colored pencil on paper. The composition divides into two distinct realms: a fully rendered andiron in shadow, and a ghostly, linear echo. The rendered form plays with light, casting the object into a chiaroscuro that emphasizes volume and texture. Note the stark, vertical thrust of the andiron's main body, softened by its bulbous form and the ornate finial. This contrasts sharply with the airy, skeletal version beside it, which offers us a diagrammatic view, almost like an architect's blueprint. Korsch is playing with representation itself. The contrast between the solid and the spectral, the finished and the schematic, invites us to question the nature of form and function. How do we perceive an object? Is it through its physical presence or its conceptual outline? The cool detachment of the drawing underscores a modernist sensibility, challenging our conventional understanding of domestic objects and their place in our lives.