Plate 72: Empty Oval c. 1575 - 1580

"Plate 72: Empty Oval," a drawing from c. 1575 - 1580 by Joris Hoefnagel, is a minimalist work that highlights the beauty of simple form. The artwork depicts a single, delicate oval drawn in gold ink on a cream-colored page, creating a sense of space and quiet contemplation. Its simplicity allows the viewer to focus on the shape and line, making it a perfect example of the Renaissance interest in precision and detail. This drawing, like many of Hoefnagel's works, is part of a larger project. It is likely that the blank oval was intended for a natural object to be drawn in the space, or perhaps it was a compositional study.