Three Male Heads
1493–1560
Medium
Pen and brown ink over traces of black chalk
Dimensions
12-5/8 x 8-1/8 in. (32.1 x 20.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1963
Accession Number
63.125
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking drawing by Baccio Bandinelli captures three male heads in varying angles and expressions, showcasing the artist’s keen interest in human anatomy and character. Active during the height of the Italian Renaissance and early Mannerism, Bandinelli was a prominent Florentine sculptor and draftsman best known for his rivalry with Michelangelo. Though celebrated for large-scale marble works such as Hercules and Cacus, he frequently turned to paper to refine his understanding of form, making studies like this essential to his creative process. Executed in pen and brown ink over faint bl...
About the Artist
Baccio Bandinelli · 1493–1560
Bandinelli was the son of Michelangelo de'Brandini, a successful Florentine goldsmith. Baccio was a loyal subject of the Medici, even when they were in exile 1494-1513; consequently he was rewarded by receiving commissions after the elections to the papacy of Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici) and Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici), and after Cosimo de' Medici became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1537. His polit...