Design for a Stage Set Showing Interior of Rustic Kitchen ("Cucina Rustica") 1759 - 1829

Lorenzo Sacchetti made this stage set design, *Cucina Rustica*, using pen and brown wash. Washes like this are made by mixing pigment with a binder to make a translucent fluid. It’s not paint, exactly, but more like a watercolor, allowing the artist to build tone and suggest depth. Sacchetti was working at a time when theater was central to Italian life. And while the drawing itself may seem simple, it represents many hours of labor. First, the artisanal manufacture of paper and ink. Then, the skilled hand that laid down these even strokes, describing an idealized version of a working-class space. Think about the kitchen itself, with its barrels and brickwork. These objects would have been made by skilled hands, too—coopers, masons, and so on. Sacchetti's seemingly simple design connects to a much larger network of making and doing, reminding us that even the humblest setting is built by countless acts of human labor.