Ox looking to the left 

Francesco Londonio’s ‘Ox looking to the left’ is a drawing in graphite, created in eighteenth-century Italy, a period in which the academy was the central institution of art. Londonio, a Lombardian painter, here presents a clear-eyed observation of nature. It reflects an Enlightenment concern with scientific accuracy. Depicting rural life was not considered among the most elevated genres at the time. Italian art institutions focused instead on historical or religious painting. This drawing may therefore represent a challenge to the hierarchy of artistic subjects. The naturalistic treatment perhaps elevates the animal to the status of a noble subject. To understand this drawing further, historians might examine eighteenth-century agricultural practices in Lombardy or compare the image with Londonio’s paintings to assess how it relates to his wider artistic project. The meaning of art is always contingent on such research.