Shaker Table c. 1936

Victor Muollo made this drawing of a Shaker Table. The color palette is very limited, browns, whites, creams, and umbers. It feels as though Muollo has been trying to find a feeling, or a thought, rather than trying to replicate the scene. It’s as though Muollo is speaking to the table, and the process of drawing is how he’s listening. I really feel for him. The image is pared back but he is really trying to show something to us. I wonder, when he made this, was he looking at other kinds of drawings? Maybe technical drawings or even blueprints? I wonder, too, what kind of brush he used here. It’s very dry, and the marks are very gentle. He allows the drawing to breathe. There's something very moving about drawing an object with such patience. I really feel the artist's hand here, it makes me want to go back to the studio.