Contouren van De grootmoedigheid van Scipio 1550 - 1598

Benedetto Caliari created this sketch, Contouren van De grootmoedigheid van Scipio, in the late 16th century. Caliari was working in Venice during a time of immense social stratification, where artistic patronage and social mobility were often dictated by class and familial connections. This sketch depicts a scene of magnanimity, reflecting the Renaissance fascination with classical virtues. However, looking closer, we can consider the power dynamics inherent in such a scene. Who gets to be generous, and to whom? The sketch is awash with figures, but there is a hierarchy of bodies – some armored and upright, others kneeling and exposed. Moreover, the use of sketching as a medium speaks to the artistic process, and the layers of creation, where ideas are formed and reformed. We are left to consider what is revealed and concealed in this incomplete rendering of a classical scene. It gives us a glimpse into the cultural values of the time, and into the artist’s own negotiation of power, representation, and identity.