Bottle c. 1937

John Matulis made this painting of a bottle – that the catalogue tells me is from the early 19th century – out of watercolor, and gouache, on paper. The making of this picture, of a slightly misshapen bottle, probably involved lots of looking, and squinting, to see how the light makes the bottle appear to be made of lots of tones, and colors, of earth. Up close, the watercolor sits on the surface with a slight granulation, built up in translucent layers, except at the base where there’s this little opaque ring of ochre gouache, like the scum that’s left when a tide goes out. It’s humble, and slightly wonky – like the bottle itself. And, there’s something about its gentle awkwardness that reminds me of Giorgio Morandi, with his endless still-life paintings of bottles. Like Morandi, Matulis really looked at the thing in front of him and in so doing, allowed the object to express something of its quiet, earthy essence.