Seated Female Holding a Book, Two Heads of Bearded Men, Seated Male Nude, and Four Sketches for Christ Judging (recto); Studies for Cain Slaying Abel (verso) 1628

Here we see a sheet of paper, made around 1600 by Palma il Giovane, quickly worked over with pen and ink. These are traditional art materials, of course, but consider how ubiquitous they were. Paper was essential for the administration of Venice, where il Giovane lived, not to mention its literary culture. Il Giovane was a prolific artist; his draftsmanship enabled a fast, productive throughput. The rapid strokes you see here reflect a mind at work – multiple ideas being generated, captured, and assessed. Look closely, and you can see the artist's economical approach to depicting form and action. The figures seem to emerge from the page through a skillful hatching and cross-hatching of lines. Il Giovane was deeply immersed in the culture of disegno, or drawing, as the foundation for all visual art. These sketches give us a glimpse into the artist's creative process, showing how skill with materials – even the most basic – was the underpinning for ambitious, large-scale productions. Ultimately, the labor put into these studies resulted in paintings and commissions, which helped drive Venice's cultural and commercial power.