Barocci Drawings: Supports

Papermaking originated in China and slowly spread westward though the Arab world. It reached Italy in the second half of the 13th century. Here paper was made mainly from vegetable fibres derived from linen rags and hemp ropes. To prepare for fermentation, washing and then maceration, fibres were broken down and mixed with water to create a pulp. A special mould was then dipped into the pulp. When raised, the mould would let the water drain keeping the layer of fibres intact, which after drying would form the sheet of paper.

Technological development in the following centuries allowed Italian papermakers to refine their methods. Some of the improvements consisted of changes in the pulp preparation to create coloured paper, the mould construction and the enlargement of the sheets’ size. One of the main centres of papermaking in Italy was the city of Fabriano, in the Marche region, not far from Federico Barocci’s hometown of Urbino.

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