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Home | Exhibitions | Barocci: A lesson in drawing | Barocci Drawings: Types of drawingsOften made in pen and ink, or chalks, these types of drawings were made quickly to capture the essence of the artist’s composition. Since they were usually made from imagination and were done at a very early stage of the creative process, they could often appear unfinished and look quite different from the final composition. From a document dated 1658 we learn that Barocci called his sketches ‘scarpigni’ (‘primi pensieri’ or first thoughts). Bellori also mentions that he would never draw anything that he had not first observed in nature. He would frequently walk in the streets and squares of Urbino to look for scenes to sketch from everyday life. This exercise enabled him to use subjects observed at first-hand when depicting religious subject matters.