Navicella (recto); Two Drawings of Ships (verso)

Copying works of art in their original locations—for practice with composition or to record another’s ideas—was one of the main functions of drawing before 1450. In this example, Parri Spinelli used a quill pen and ink on a large sheet of paper to copy the composition of a monumental mosaic that adorned the portico of Old Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome (since destroyed). In this scene from the Bible, Christ walks on water at right, while Saint Peter kneels before him in front of a ship filled with Christ’s disciples. Spinelli focused on the outlines of the figures, using a limited vocabulary of parallel and perpendicular lines to suggest shallow depth and shadow. Paper was rarely wasted. On the other side of the sheet, Spinelli continued the copy, rendering two large ships and two rowing boats full of people.