Ink Well c. 1936

Anthony Zuccarello made this drawing of an Ink Well with pencil on paper. It's a small study. Look at the economy of line here – just enough to get the form across. The pale green is like a memory, a ghost of a colour. I wonder, what was Zuccarello thinking as he drew? Was this an object he used every day? A treasure? Or just something that caught his eye in the studio? Maybe it was the quality of light on the glass that sparked something in him. Artists are always on the lookout for that certain something that will set off the creative impulse, you know? This quiet sketch reminds me of the drawings of Giorgio Morandi, who spent his whole life drawing the same bottles in different lights. In that way, this little drawing echoes a larger conversation around seeing and representing. It’s proof that you don't need much to say something profound.