image 115 National Museum of Women in the Arts

The drawing presents a single, geometrically precise cube positioned centrally within the frame. The artist has rendered it with a watercolor technique, employing washes and subtle gradations of color to suggest volume and light. A predominantly cool palette dominates – variations of gray, blue, and hints of violet – with warmer ochre tones accentuating certain edges and facets. These touches of warmth serve not to create a sense of heat but rather to define the form’s contours against the cooler background.
The cubes surface is not uniformly colored; instead, it displays an unevenness that suggests texture or perhaps the effects of light reflecting off a slightly irregular material. The artist has avoided sharp outlines, opting for softer edges that blend into the surrounding paper, which contributes to a sense of fragility and transience.
The stark simplicity of the subject matter invites contemplation about fundamental forms and spatial relationships. It is not merely a depiction of an object but rather an exploration of its essential qualities – its solidity, its three-dimensionality, and its relationship to the space it occupies. The absence of any contextual elements or narrative cues directs attention solely to the cube itself, elevating it to the status of a self-contained symbol.
The inscription at the bottom left corner, Accademia 93, provides a temporal anchor, situating the work within a specific timeframe and potentially hinting at an academic exercise or study. The signature below suggests a personal engagement with this formal exploration.
Subtly, the drawing evokes a sense of detachment and objectivity. It is not sentimental or expressive in a conventional way; instead, it presents itself as a clinical observation of form. This restraint could be interpreted as a commentary on the nature of perception – the attempt to capture an objective reality stripped bare of subjective interpretation. The cube, as a basic geometric shape, can also symbolize stability and order, but its isolation within the vastness of the white paper introduces a note of melancholy or existential questioning.