Four standing saints c. 1430

Pisanello made this drawing of four standing saints sometime in the first half of the 15th century. Drawings like this were not made to be exhibited in a museum, but instead, were part of the workshop process. Here, we see Pisanello working out the poses and drapery of these holy figures, perhaps in preparation for a painting or fresco. This was a time when the church and its imagery were central to European culture. Pisanello worked for powerful courts in northern Italy, whose wealth depended on trade and nascent banking institutions. His art offered these elites a way to publicly signal their piety and solidify their social position. To understand Pisanello’s choices, historians turn to account books, devotional texts, and architectural records. These sources help us understand how art was made and what social functions it served in its own time. After all, even a sketch like this one tells a complex story about the relationship between artistic creativity and social institutions.