Head of a man with serious expression
Medium
Etching; only state
Dimensions
Plate: 2 1/2 × 1 7/8 in. (6.3 × 4.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917
Accession Number
17.50.18-255
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate etching, *Head of a Man with Serious Expression*, captures the intense gaze and thoughtful demeanor of its subject in a remarkably intimate scale—just 2½ × 1⅞ inches. Created by the Bohemian engraver Wenceslauslar between 1644 and 1652, it reproduces a preparatory drawing by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci Hollar, renowned for his meticulous reproductive prints of Old Master works, faithfully interprets Leonardo's sfumato-like modeling and anatomical precision, preserving the original's subtle psychological depth. As a single-state etching—a rarity in printmaking—this p...
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...