![American Collections — 0055 r [II. 13-16]](https://codex.venivididavinci.com/codices/usa-collection-drawings/highres/121_0055-r-II.-13-16.jpg)
Grotesque Heads: Four Caricatured Busts (nos. 13-16)
A grid of four aged, exaggerated profile heads in the Leonardesque grotesque tradition
The sheet gathers four separate head studies mounted in a two-by-two grid, each numbered in ink in its upper corner (13, 14, 15, 16). Every head is an aged, exaggerated caricature in the grotesque manner, shown as a profile or three-quarter bust with strongly modeled wrinkles, jutting jaws, and bulbous or hooked features. No prose or notes accompany the drawings beyond the small plate numerals.
On this page
Balding man with protruding lips (no. 13)
The upper-left panel shows a three-quarter head of a bald man with a fringe of tight curls and a thick, sinewy neck, turned toward the right. His toothless mouth is pushed forward with the lips and tongue thrust out, exaggerating the collapsed lower face.
Capped elder in profile (no. 14)
The upper-right panel is a profile bust facing left of an aged figure wearing a soft cap or turban gathered into a knot at the crown, with a tie hanging at the neck. The sunken, toothless mouth and creased cheek mark the sitter as very old.
Man in a wide flat cap (no. 15)
The lower-left panel shows a profile bust facing left of a heavy-jowled man in a broad, soft flat cap. His bulbous nose, jutting chin, and puckered mouth are drawn with deep folds, and a bit of drapery is knotted across the chest.
Hook-nosed man in a scaled cap (no. 16)
The lower-right panel is a profile bust facing right of an old man wearing a scaled or quilted cap held by a strap under the crown. The deeply lined face carries a strongly hooked nose and a lean, sunken jaw above pleated shoulder drapery.