Grotesque Head With a Large Ear and an Open Mouth Looking to the Right Within a Circle
1727
Medium
Pen and brown ink
Dimensions
sheet: 12 7/8 x 8 1/2 in. (32.7 x 21.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of János Scholz, 1960
Accession Number
60.541.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Grotesque Head With a Large Ear and an Mouth Looking to the Right Within a Circle* (1727), a captivating pen and brown ink drawing by Italian artist Gaetano Piccini This 12⅞ × 8½-inch sheet captures a dramatically exaggerated male head—framed within a circular border—featuring a prominent ear, gaping mouth, and intense gaze to the right. Piccini active in the early 18th century, in such whimsical yet expressive studies, drawing from the Renaissance tradition of *grotesques* popularized by Leonardo da Vinci and the Carracci brothers. Rendered with precise brown ink lines, the work ...