Three Views of a Bearded Man's Head
Red-chalk studies of an old man in profile, three-quarter and near-frontal view
A horizontal sheet with three red-chalk studies of the head of an elderly bearded man. At the left he is seen in sharp profile with a hooked nose and curling beard; in the centre he wears a soft cap and turns three-quarters with lowered eyes; at the right he faces almost frontally, the eyes closed or downcast. The institution's catalogue records the sheet as three views of a bearded male head, dated about 1502.
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Three studies of the same aged, bearded head
The three heads explore one type of old man from different angles, the profile at left emphasising the strong nose and jutting brow, the central and right heads softening into three-quarter and frontal views. The abundant curling beard and hair are worked in flowing red-chalk strokes, while the flesh is modelled with light hatching. The repeated turning of the head studies the same physiognomy in the round.