David and Goliath 1548 - 1628

Jacopo Palma, called Il Giovane, made this drawing of David and Goliath using pen and brown ink on laid paper. The rapidly sketched lines suggest the artist was primarily interested in the figures’ dynamic poses rather than fine details. The economical use of the humble materials speaks to the drawing's function as a study or preparatory sketch. In Palma’s time, drawings like this were essential for planning larger compositions, like paintings. By quickly capturing the essence of a scene on paper, he could experiment with different arrangements, honing his ideas before committing to a more time-consuming and expensive medium like paint. The artist uses hatching and cross-hatching techniques to build up shadows and volume, creating a sense of depth and drama with limited resources. Drawings such as this, therefore, show us the crucial labor undertaken in early modern workshops, where ideas were developed through these kinds of material investigations. They blur the lines between the idea of the artwork, and its physical making.