Studienblatt_ Zehn Figuren und ein Löwe c. 1600 - 1610

This is a study sheet of figures and a lion, made by Francesco Vanni around the turn of the 17th century, using pen and brown ink on paper. The immediate appeal is in the artist's hand – so fluent, so assured. But think about it: that ease was hard-won. Vanni has clearly spent untold hours drawing, and that dedication is really the subject of this work. The different figures – angels, seated women, crowds of people – almost seem like exercises, each one performed to build up a kind of visual muscle memory. This wasn't just about sketching ideas, but developing the ability to render them effortlessly. Drawings like this were essential to workshop practice. Think of them as the scales that a musician plays before a performance. They remind us that the art we admire is always the result of sustained effort and honed skill.