Design for a Cartouche 17th century

This drawing of a cartouche is made with pen and ink, with a gray wash on laid paper. The delicate rendering gives an impression of stone carving, complete with swags and cherubs. It probably served as a design for architectural ornament, perhaps intended to be executed in plaster. The drawing is a study, rather than a finished work in itself. Note how the artist has used the gray wash to model the forms, suggesting light and shadow, and carefully rendering the textures of the drapery and musical instruments. The effect is one of three-dimensionality, as if we are looking at a real object rather than a flat drawing. Consider the skilled labor involved in both its production and the imagined carving. Drawings like this were essential to coordinating the labor of workshops, translating ideas into material form. Appreciating the processes of design and making allows us to understand the broader economic and social context in which artworks are created.