Bust of a deformed old woman with one tooth, facing left

Art Historical Context

This delicate etching, created in 1665 Wenceslaus Hollar after a design by Leonardo da, presents a striking profile an elderly woman whose weathered features and single tooth convey both vulnerability and character. Leonardo was renowned for his studies of human physiognomy, often exploring exaggerated or unconventional faces to understand emotion, age, and individuality. Hollar, a skilled Bohemian printmaker active in England, faithfully translated such drawings into print, allowing wider audiences to appreciate Leonardo’s inventive observations long after the originals were created. Measuring just over two inches tall, the work exemplifies the intimate scale of 17th-century reproductive etchings. Produced in a single state, it highlights Hollar’s precise line work, which captures subtle contours and textures without the need for later revisions. Today housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the piece offers visitors a window into Renaissance curiosity about the human form and the enduring power of printmaking to preserve and disseminate artistic ideas across centuries.

About the Artist

Leonardo da Vinci|Wenceslaus Hollar · 1452–1519

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) stands as the quintessential Renaissance polymath, whose genius spanned painting, sculpture, architecture, science, mathematics, engineering, anatomy, geology, cartography, botany, and writing. Born in Vinci, Italy, as the illegitimate son of a notary, Leonardo received limited formal education but demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent from an early age. His appr...