Drapery Study c. 18th century

Francesco Lorenzi created this study of drapery in the eighteenth century using graphite and white chalk on blue paper. Although the materials used are traditional, the drawing style, with its emphasis on line and shading, gives the image a tactile quality as the artist uses the materials to recreate the visual play of light and shadow on the fabric, emphasizing the folds and undulations of the cloth. It’s easy to overlook the labor involved in creating such an image, but drapery studies such as this, were not simply about reproducing the appearance of cloth. They were also about understanding the ways in which the material could be manipulated to create different effects, this knowledge helped the artist to reproduce such effects in their paintings. The production of drawings such as these provided a means to classify the knowledge of practical skills, and, in turn, reinforce hierarchies between the fine arts and other forms of making.