Silver Creamer c. 1936

Here’s Simon Weiss’s drawing of a silver creamer, made sometime between 1855 and 1995. I love the delicacy of the pencil lines and the way it captures the reflective quality of the silver. You can see the artist is thinking about the object from every angle. It makes me think about how, as a painter, you’re always trying to figure out how to translate a three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional surface. I can imagine Weiss turning the creamer in his hands, trying to capture every detail. It’s a little drawing, but it’s full of ambition. Look at the details on the side of the pitcher, the way he’s built up the shading with tiny strokes. All those decorative flourishes and how they catch the light. Weiss probably knew his way around a workshop and had an arsenal of tools. There's something so joyful about how he’s approached it. It’s like he wants to share his love for the beauty of this object. It’s a reminder that artists are always building on the ideas of those who came before, keeping the conversation going.