Menelaus Holding the Body of Patroclus n.d.

Giulio Romano created this drawing, *Menelaus Holding the Body of Patroclus*, using pen and brown ink with brown wash, heightened with white gouache. The sepia tones create an antique feel, immediately situating the scene in the distant past. But it’s the handwork of the drawing that really gives it power. Look closely, and you'll see how Romano built up the figures with thousands of tiny strokes, lending weight and volume through sheer labor. It would have taken considerable time to produce this drawing. Time was precious for artists like Romano, who ran large workshops, employing many assistants. Drawings like these were not simply sketches. They were vital intellectual property, carefully protected and re-used, scaled up for tapestries and frescos. In this context, drawing becomes not just a means of expression, but a crucial step in the engine of early modern image production. So, next time you look at a drawing, consider the intense labor, and the place of the work within the larger creative economy. It might change the way you see the image entirely.