Four grotesque profile heads (studies 17-20)
Caricature busts including a curly-haired youth and a tasselled cap
A plate of four grotesque head studies numbered 17 to 20, each a caricatured bust. Two are shown with dense curly hair and bare shoulders, while the others wear a topknotted cap and a tall tasselled bonnet; all display exaggerated brows, noses, and mouths. The sheet belongs to the caricature 'teste grottesche' tradition. No accompanying text is transcribed for this sheet.
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Curly-haired youth with heavy jaw (study 17)
A young man with a mass of tight curls faces left, his heavy chin and pursed mouth thrust forward and his chest and shoulders left bare. The modeling is soft, built up with delicate hatching.
Head in topknotted cap (study 18)
A profile faces right beneath a small cap gathered into a topknot, with curls escaping behind the ear. The mouth and chin jut forward in strong caricature over a draped shoulder.
Bald man with heavy brow (study 19)
A profile faces left with a bald crown and thick curls at the back of the head, the forehead, nose, and lips pushed forward in an exaggerated mass. The bust ends in a lightly drawn shoulder.
Man in tall tasselled bonnet (study 20)
A sharply caricatured profile faces right, wearing a tall pointed bonnet with a hanging tassel and curls falling beside the ear. A beaded chain crosses the chest above a scalloped collar.
![American Collections — 0055 r [I. 17-20]](https://codex.venivididavinci.com/codices/usa-collection-drawings/highres/111_0055-r-I.-17-20.jpg)