![American Collections — 0055 r [II. 37-40]](https://codex.venivididavinci.com/codices/usa-collection-drawings/highres/127_0055-r-II.-37-40.jpg)
Grotesque Heads: Four Caricature Profiles (nos. 37-40)
A plate of four small character studies of aged and bizarre faces in profile
The plate assembles four small drawings of grotesque or heavily characterized human heads, each pasted separately and numbered 37 to 40 in the upper corner. Three are aged men shown in sharp profile with prominent noses, jutting chins and toothless mouths, while the fourth is a bearded, curly-haired man in three-quarter view amid faint auxiliary sketches. No autograph text accompanies the images; the corner numbers are cataloguing marks rather than Leonardo's writing.
On this page
Faint profile of an old man (no. 37)
A lightly drawn head of an aged, balding man faces right in profile. The features are softly sketched, with curling hair over the ear and a receding, wrinkled face.
Old man in a soft cap (no. 38)
A wrinkled old man wearing a rounded soft cap is shown in profile to the right, his large hooked nose and protruding chin nearly meeting. The neck and shoulders are indicated with a loose collar.
Bald man with heavy jaw (no. 39)
A bald, wrinkled man faces left in profile, with a strong brow, deep-set eye and a broad heavy jaw. The shoulders are lightly draped.
Bearded man in three-quarter view (no. 40)
A curly-haired, bearded man turns his head to the right in near three-quarter view. Faint crossing lines and secondary sketches surround the figure at the lower right.