Kneeling, Seated and Standing Figures (recto); Seated, Kneeling and Reclining Figures (verso) 1501 - 1547

This drawing was made by Perino del Vaga in the 16th century, using pen and brown ink on paper. Think about the artist sitting with a quill in hand, using iron gall ink that he likely prepared himself. It’s a very direct, immediate medium. You get a sense of the artist thinking through the composition, the figures rendered with economical strokes. This wasn’t necessarily a presentation drawing, meant for a patron’s eye. More likely, it was part of a longer process of working out a larger composition, maybe even a fresco. You see this exploratory quality in the overlapping figures and varied poses. There’s no erasure here, no attempt to hide the artist’s hand at work. Drawings like this remind us that even in the Renaissance, artistic creation was work. Laborious, thoughtful, and deeply invested with the artist's own presence. It is important to consider materials, processes, and social context to challenge traditional notions of fine art and craft.