A 16th century Spanish drawing discovered by dealer Christopher Bishop was recently sold to the Detroit Institute of Arts. The work was the highlight of an exhibition of rare works of art on paper at Christopher Bishop Fine Art as part of Master Drawings New York (MDNY). The extraordinarily rare Spanish drawing, The Pharaohs Judgment, was first discovered by Bishop at a small New England auction. Its gripping subject matter and modern feel make it the type of drawing that only emerges once every generation, said Bishop. A priceless object, The Pharaohs Judgmentpresents an extraordinary story of survival. Drawings such as The Pharaohs Judgment are well documented in the Escorial collection, the royal collection of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, near Madrid, in central Spain. The most important architectural monument of the Spanish Renaissance, El Escorial includes a church (1582); monastery, royal palace, and college (1584); and library (1592). Like these building projects, the ambitious liturgical project connected to this drawing was intended as an expression of the prestige of the Spanish royal house, then the richest in the world. The Pharaohs Judgment offers a unique chance to understand a lost world, noted Bishop. It was made at the end of the 16th century in the royal embroidery studio at the Escorial palace in Spain. King Philip II spared no expense when it came to his pet project, funneling huge wealth into the creation of ornate embroideries. The drawings rarity and importance only came to light when the drawing was lifted off of its old backing and its function and origins became clear as the light came through the pricks in the paper. The drawing has tiny pin-size prick holes along the whole pattern of the drawing, which would have been used to transfer the image to a piece of cloth. These holes are visible to the naked eye when held up to the light. The picture would then have been used to prepare an embroidery of the same size for a portion of a luxurious ecclesiastical garment. Imagine the dazzling display these embroideries must have made. Even this one scene, which must have been one of many on a priests vestments, would have taken months to weave and contained more silver and gold thread than the average Spaniard could hope to accumulate in a lifetime. The shock and awe of these garments must have been tremendous. The Spanish understood theological theater. Even the subject matter is chosen to impress the viewer with the power of the King. Fashion and religion seem like very different fields, but really, they have always been linked through a sense of theater and drama, just think of the Metropolitan Museums 2018 costume exhibition Heavenly Bodies on this theme, added Bishop. In the period, women did the embroidery work and one can imagine the many hours of anonymous work they did to complete this image, further explained Bishop. Deep in the Escorial archives probably lies this very embroidery, the product of countless hours of unrecognized labor. With any luck and much patience, it might be found again. The recovery of these connections will allow us for the first time to put these female workers back into the story of art and make their presence known again. They were the ones who knew how to bring this scene to life in full technicolor. Christopher Bishop Fine Art specializes in drawings and paintings from the 15th through early 20th century. Known for a scholarly approach to evaluating, presenting, and authenticating Old Master works as well as a wide range of works on paper, the gallery seeks to present new ways to think about and collect Old Masters and modern works on paper. Located at 1046 Madison Avenue at East 80th Street in New York City, the gallery participates in Master Drawings New York; TEFAF Maastricht; The Salon du Dessin, Paris; and October Art Week, New York. Images courtesy Norman Godinez.