Figure Studies c. 1640s

Salvator Rosa made these figure studies, using pen and brown ink on paper, sometime in the 17th century. The immediacy of the drawing allows us insight into Rosa’s working methods. With just a few strokes, he captures the turn of the head and the set of the shoulders. The iron gall ink, common at the time, has a sharp, biting quality, ideal for capturing detail. You can almost feel the scratch of the pen across the page. Consider the artist's hand. Skilled draughtsmanship was highly valued and required years of practice, so drawings like this one demonstrated an artist's technical facility. The ability to quickly sketch figures from life, or from imagination, was crucial for producing larger, more elaborate compositions. Ultimately, the material qualities of a work like this should remind us of the value of craft, and of the intense training that underpins artistic virtuosity.