Grotesque Heads: Aged Busts and a Plumed Woman (nos. 49-52)
Four caricature studies, including a woman in an elaborate headdress
This plate holds four grotesque studies numbered 49 to 52. Two are bald or balding old men shown as busts in profile with bare shoulders; one is a woman with an elaborate coiled and plumed headdress and a low-necked bodice; and the last is a curly-haired man with a strongly hooked nose. No autograph text is present, and the corner numbers are later cataloguing marks.
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Bald old man, bust (no. 49)
A bald, wrinkled old man is drawn as a bust in profile to the right, his bony shoulders bare and draped with a light cloth. The face is deeply furrowed with a prominent nose.
Woman in a plumed headdress (no. 50)
A woman faces right in profile, wearing a tall coiled headdress topped by a curling plume. Her heavy features contrast with an ornate low-necked bodice and puffed sleeve.
Toothless bald head (no. 51)
A bald man's head is inclined and shown in profile to the left, the mouth sunken and toothless. The skull and jaw are lightly modelled with shading.
Curly-haired man with hooked nose (no. 52)
A man with a mass of curly hair faces right in profile, his nose sharply hooked over a receding mouth. The shoulders and garment are lightly sketched.
![American Collections — 0055 r [II. 49-52]](https://codex.venivididavinci.com/codices/usa-collection-drawings/highres/130_0055-r-II.-49-52.jpg)