Bust of elderly man with nose that meets his lower lip, wearing wide flat cap in profile to left
Medium
Etching; only state
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 5/8 × 1 7/8 in. (6.7 × 4.8 cm) Plate: 2 5/8 × 1 7/8 in. (6.6 × 4.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.18-268
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate etching, titled *Bust of Elderly Man with Nose that Meets His Lower Lip, Wearing Flat Cap in Profile to*, captures a striking profile portrait attributed to a drawing by Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci (145–1519), faithfully reproduced by master printmaker Wenceslaus Hollar in 1665. Hollar, a Bohemian renowned for his meticulous etchings of Old Master works, created this as the only state of the plate—meaning no subsequent editions altered it—preserving da Vinci's keen observation of human form in exquisite detail. The small scale (just 2⅝ × 1⅞ inches) invites close viewing,...
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...