Engel, der ein Spruchband hoch hält 

Cristoforo Roncalli made this drawing of an angel holding a banner with red chalk, likely in the late 16th or early 17th century. It’s a traditional material, but used here in a very particular way: the artist has drawn a grid across the surface, subdividing the figure into a network of small squares. This immediately tells us that the drawing was not meant as a finished work of art. It was probably preparatory, intended to be scaled up, perhaps for a fresco painting. The grid would have allowed Roncalli, or more likely an assistant, to transfer the composition to a larger surface, square by square. There’s a whole world of skilled labor implied here. We can easily imagine the artist in his studio, surrounded by apprentices who would perform the more workaday tasks of production. It’s a reminder that even the most seemingly individual works of art often emerge from a collaborative context. The drawing may have been made by one hand, but the labor to transfer it would have taken a different form. This consideration encourages us to look beyond the traditional boundaries of fine art, and to acknowledge the many hands that contribute to the creative process.