Bust of a deformed old woman with one tooth, facing left
Medium
Etching; only state
Dimensions
Plate: 2 5/8 × 1 7/8 in. (6.7 × 4.8 cm) cut on platemark
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.18-178
Tags
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. Measuri...
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...