# Bandbox

**John Tarantino** (American)  
c. 1937  
watercolor, gouache, and graphite on paperboard  
overall: 28.1 x 22.1 cm (11 1/16 x 8 11/16 in.) Original IAD Object: 19 3/4" deep

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.8.8423. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.20620.html).

## About this work

John Tarantino painted this in about 1937. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

This is a painting of a decorative box with pastoral scenes. The box has an oval lid and rectangular base adorned with intricate pastoral scenes in earthy tones. The scenes depict landscapes with trees, hills, and figures engaged in various activities against a warm backdrop. The lid has a similar scene, creating a cohesive decorative theme. The style resembles 19th-century European art focusing on pastoral genre scenes and decorative arts. The artwork delicately balances detail and composition, evoking calm and nostalgia.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Graphite.** Pencil. Graphite has been used for drawing since the 1500s; in 1795 Nicolas-Jacques Conté mixed it with clay, so its hardness could be graded.

### [John Tarantino](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/john-tarantino)

American

## Facts

- Type: Drawing
- Real size: about 11 × 8½ in (28 × 22 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 20th century
- Movement: [American folk and design](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/american-folk-design)
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1411.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1411/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/bandbox-nga-20620).