The Nymph of Capri n.d.

Pier Leone Ghezzi created this drawing, "The Nymph of Capri", using pen and brown ink wash on paper. It is very much rooted in the artist's hand, with the quick, confident strokes that define form and shadow. Looking at the image itself, it’s tempting to think about the ease and fluidity of the line, almost a caricature. This work may appear to be casually tossed off, but the artist's skill in using the ink wash to create depth and volume shows otherwise. The choice of medium, with the directness of pen and ink, is no accident. Here, the process becomes part of the artistic expression, and the artist's hand is very much present. Drawings like this were produced in quantity in the eighteenth century, a kind of social currency exchanged among artists and collectors. The artist's skill, combined with the relative cheapness of pen and ink, allowed for a flourishing art market, where works on paper like this had real value. So, thinking about how the work was made, and the artistic context of the time, helps us to understand its value.