Ontwerp voor een plafond met Waarheid, Tijd en Liefde 1680 - 1757

This is a design for a ceiling, made by Mattheus Terwesten, using pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, over graphite. What is most striking here is the immediacy of the artist’s hand. You can almost see Terwesten leaning over the paper, working rapidly to capture his vision. The washes of brown ink create a sense of depth and volume, while the pen lines add definition to the figures and drapery. This kind of drawing was fundamental to the creation of large-scale decorative schemes in the 17th and 18th centuries. Artists like Terwesten would produce these drawings as proposals for wealthy patrons, who would then commission the full-scale paintings or sculptures. In that sense, it is a direct record of artistic labor, a proposal for the grand decorations that would glorify the wealthy families of the era. So next time you look at a finished work of art, remember the many steps and people involved in its creation, and the role of drawings like this in bringing those visions to life.