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an old drawing of a man with a beard and a turban
Dams Casa d'Aste

4 - Leonardo da Vinci (follower of) – Grotesque head of an old w…
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Estimate €400 - €800
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Description
Leonardo da Vinci (follower of) – Grotesque head of an old woman in profile, graphite on laid paper, 141 x 94 cm A unique study of a head depicting an elderly woman in right-facing profile, her head wrapped in a headdress and her face rendered with extraordinary attention to physiognomic details. The strongly pronounced nose, marked by a distinct protrusion, the sunken eye, the tight-lipped mouth and the pointed chin combine to create a physiognomy deliberately far removed from any ideal of beauty.It is precisely this exploration of the irregular and the individual that links the drawing to the figurative tradition that developed around Leonardo da Vinci. Alongside his studies of proportion and his famous ‘ideal heads’, Leonardo in fact devoted constant attention to faces marked by age and to unusual features, sometimes exaggerating their characteristics to the point of creating those famous ‘character heads’ or ‘exaggerated heads’ which enjoyed immense popularity amongst his followers.In this drawing, however, the grotesque element does not appear to be an end in itself: the artist seems to be observing a real face, focusing almost curiously on the deformation of the nose and the signs of ageing. The delicate linework, accompanied by dense hatching in the shaded areas, focuses attention on the eye socket and the lower part of the face, whilst the headdress is rendered using a freer interplay of overlapping lines.The sheet thus constitutes a striking testament to the enduring influence of Leonardo’s physiognomy in the sixteenth century, when the human types developed by the master continued to circulate, be copied and reinterpreted within his circle and by subsequent generations.
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About the sale Paintings and Drawings from the 15th to the 19th century
Auction location
Auction time 10/29/2026 at 3:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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