Antiek romeins marmeren buste van Presunto Vitellio 17th century

This drawing of an antique Roman marble bust, possibly Vitellius, was created by Antonio da Cremona using what looks like graphite or black chalk on paper. The artist coaxes out form and light through controlled lines and shading. The drawing captures the cool, smooth texture and the weight of the original marble sculpture, and even suggests the slow, subtractive process of carving with chisels and rasps. Though a drawing is a quicker medium, Cremona clearly wants to evoke the labor and skill involved in the original sculpture, not just the likeness of its subject. The choice of a relatively humble material like chalk allows the artist to focus on the fundamental act of translating three dimensions into two. It reminds us that all art, whether ‘high’ or ‘low’, involves a series of material decisions that deeply affect its meaning.