Two Deformed Heads Facing Inwards (ca. 1654)
Original title: Two Deformed Heads Facing Inwards
kurzbeschreibung
Wenceslaus Hollar made this etching around 1654. Two stylized, distorted heads in profile face each other. The source was a design by Leonardo da Vinci, as an inscription on the sheet states.
Description
Two profile heads confront each other. The left one looks round and bulbous, its face broad and tilted slightly upward. The right one is narrow and pointed, with a long face angled downward. The heads overlap in part, and the background stays empty. Fine strokes and hatching create the shading; the drawing is black and white. In the upper right appears the inscription “Leonardo da Vinci inv. / W. Holler fuit.”
Context
Hollar produced this print around 1654 as a reproductive engraving after a design by Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo often studied deformed or grotesque heads in his sketches for physiognomic research. Hollar, a Bohemian etcher working in England, made many reproductions after famous artists. The inscription on the sheet clearly attests to Leonardo’s authorship of the composition.
Impact
The confrontation of the two distorted heads is both unsettling and riveting. The extreme contrast of form—round against pointed—generates dynamic tension. The plain arrangement draws the eye to the grotesque features, which seem as repellent as they are attractive.
Technique
This work is an etching, its lines bitten into a metal plate. Fine hatching and stroke layers produce graduated gray values and sculptural shading. The sheet is small and was probably printed in an edition, as was usual for reproductive prints.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)