Standing Male Figure Holding a Sword (King Otto of Hungary; recto); Sketch of Standing Male Figure (verso). 1570 - 1613

Ludovico Cardi, called Cigoli, made this drawing of King Otto of Hungary with pen and brown ink on paper, sometime in the late 16th or early 17th century. The lines were made with iron gall ink, which has a long history. Medieval monks used it to create illuminated manuscripts, and it remained a standard for drawing and writing for centuries, because it’s easy to make. You just need tannin, iron salts, and a binder. We can see that Cigoli sketched a grid onto the sheet, a way to transfer an image from one surface to another. This grid is a clear indication of the amount of work involved, not just in the planning, but also in the labor of repeating a design at scale. The evenness of the ink lines speaks to the artist’s skill. Looking at this drawing, it’s important to understand the artistic process and labor that went into its creation. Doing so allows us to appreciate the drawing's significance, challenging conventional notions of high art.