Earthenware Jar 1935 - 1942

This earthenware jar was made by an anonymous artist, at an unknown time. What strikes me about it is its simplicity. It’s rendered in subdued greys and browns, with just a few simple blue lines for decoration. You get the sense that artmaking was a process of getting to the essentials, of paring things back to their most basic forms. The surface is smooth, almost metallic, with subtle gradations of tone that give it a sense of depth. You can almost feel the coolness of the clay, and imagine the weight of the jar in your hands. I’m drawn to the two wavy lines in the center of the jar. They're so simple, yet they give the object a sense of movement, of life. This piece reminds me of the still life paintings of Giorgio Morandi, who also found beauty in the everyday objects around him. Like Morandi, this anonymous artist encourages us to slow down, to look closely, and to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.