← Wenceslaus Hollar

Four Heads (from Characaturas by Leonardo da Vinci, from Drawings by Wincelslaus Hollar, out of the Portland Museum) (1786, Met-Objekt 5564)

Original title: Four Heads (from Characaturas by Leonardo da Vinci, from Drawings by Wincelslaus Hollar, out of the Portland Museum)

Artist

Wenceslaus Hollar

Date

1786

Medium

Etching

Dimensions

Plate: 7 11/16 x 6 5/16 in. (19.6 x 16 cm) Sheet: 7 15/16 x 6 1/2 in. (20.2 x 16.5 cm)

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953

kurzbeschreibung

Wenceslaus Hollar produced the etching Four Heads in 1786, bringing together four separate profile portraits in square frames. The print reproduces drawings then attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and belongs to a series Hollar made after older models.

Description

Four equal squares divide the image, each enclosing a head in profile. Hair, baldness, hats or other head coverings distinguish the sitters; their expressions range from serious to a faint smile. Varying line weights and hatching patterns shape contours and shading. The frames stay plain, the background a single tone without detail, so the facial features stand out.

Context

The etching of 1786 was made long after Hollar's death in 1677 and appeared posthumously in a collection of his prints. The source was drawings at the time wrongly ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci; the sheet shows how Renaissance caricatures and grotesque heads were received in the eighteenth century. Hollar, a Bohemian printmaker, was known for faithful reproductions and worked for the English court, among others. The print comes from the Portland Museum, a significant art collection, and was published as part of a series of prints after Hollar.

Impact

Precise linework and the variety of facial features give the sheet a quiet but captivating presence. The restriction to black and white and the clear arrangement of the four heads direct attention to the particular character of each profile. Fine shading makes the portrayals seem almost sketchily alive and invites closer looking.

Technique

In etching, lines are incised into a copper plate bitten by acid. Different densities and directions of strokes create fine lines and graduated shading that transfer to paper in printing. The sheet measures 19.6 x 16 cm (plate) and shows Hollar's typical technique, oriented toward precision and detail.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)