Flight of Angels, Two Holding a Large Feather c. 1556 - 1558

Taddeo Zuccaro made this drawing of angels with pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash, heightened with white, over black chalk. The composition emerges through a layering of the pen and brushstrokes, an improvisational process where the artist can adjust his vision as the image takes shape. The tactile quality of the drawing invites us to consider Zuccaro’s own labor, each stroke contributing to the final image. The cherubic figures, rendered in delicate detail, seem suspended in a divine realm, their forms emerging from a field of clouds. Yet, the materiality of the drawing brings it back down to earth. The strokes of ink and wash, the delicate lines that define the angels' features, speak to the artist's skill, gained through disciplined training. The materiality of the drawing thus mediates between the celestial and the terrestrial, reminding us that even the most ethereal visions are grounded in human skill and effort. It’s a testament to the power of drawing as a form of labor, capable of bringing the divine into tangible existence.