Ontwerp voor een hoekstuk van plafond met personificatie van de Voorzichtigheid 1680 - 1757

This drawing, made by Mattheus Terwesten, is a design for a ceiling piece, dating to the 18th century. Rendered in a reddish chalk, or sanguine, it shows a wealth of allegorical figures and decorative flourishes, all suggestive of tremendous labor. The drawing is not a finished work, but rather a proposal. The design served to persuade a client to invest money in the large-scale execution of a fresco, replete with gold leaf, costly pigments, and of course, the highly specialized labor of many craftsmen. Terwesten’s drawing provided a convincing image of a sumptuous interior, but one which depended on a whole economic system of production and consumption. By focusing on the means by which such images are made, we can appreciate the full picture, expanding our understanding of art to encompass not just beauty, but the complex web of making that it entails.