Studies of Heads

Art Historical Context

**Studies of Heads** by Battista Franco, a 16th-century Venetianaver and painter, captures Renaissance fascination with human anatomy and expression. Created around the mid-1500s, this intimate sheet features detailed sketches of male and female heads, alongside studies of hands and feet—marks of an artist's preparatory work. Franco, influenced by masters like Michelangelo, bridged High Renaissance naturalism with emerging Mannerist elegance, using these studies to refine his understanding of form and gesture for larger compositions. The medium—engraving combined with etching—marks a technica...

About the Artist

Battista Franco · 1510–1561

Battista Franco, known as il Semolei, was born in Venice around 1510, though his career unfolded largely in Rome and at the courts of central and northern Italy. He came to Rome in his twenties and immediately fell under two powerful spells: the inexhaustible riches of classical antiquity and the overwhelming presence of Michelangelo. Franco spent years making drawings after ancient sculptures and...