Table Lamp 1935 - 1942

Samuel Faigin made this "Table Lamp" using graphite and watercolor, and I love how the piece has a sketch-like quality. You can almost see the artist working through the forms, adjusting lines, and building up the tonal range. There’s a beautiful delicacy to the way Faigin renders the glass. The lines are soft, almost hesitant, which gives the lamp a kind of ethereal quality. It feels like it’s there, but also not quite. I'm drawn to the top of the lamp, where the metal parts are colored with browns and greens. There's a slight grittiness to the texture there, and it creates a beautiful contrast with the smoothness of the glass. This drawing reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi's still life paintings. Like Morandi, Faigin is interested in the quiet beauty of everyday objects. Both artists share an interest in the power of simple forms to evoke complex emotions. Art is just one big conversation, isn't it?