Proportion Study of a Head, with Nude and Horseman
Profile head in a measured grid, a striding nude in red chalk, and a rearing horse with rider
At the centre a bald male head is drawn in strict profile within a ruled rectangle, its features laid out on a grid of horizontal and vertical construction lines that measure the proportions of the face. To the right a nude male figure strides forward in red chalk, the musculature summarily indicated, while below a horse rears with a rider and further figures blocked in roughly in red chalk. A block of Italian notes in mirror script fills the upper left of the sheet; this text is not transcribed in the present edition and its presence is noted rather than read from the image.
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Profile head on a proportional grid
A bald head is drawn in exact profile inside a ruled rectangle, its eye, ear, nose and jaw fixed by a lattice of ruled lines that divide the face into measured intervals. The construction treats the head as a proportional module rather than an individual likeness. It is the most finished element of the sheet.
Striding nude male figure
At the right a nude man strides forward in red chalk, the arms swinging and the weight thrown onto one leg. The contours are searched out rapidly and the musculature of the torso and limbs is only summarily worked. It appears as a study of the figure in motion.
Rearing horse with rider
In the lower half a horse rears up carrying a rider, with additional figures roughly blocked in around it in red chalk. The animal's raised forelegs and arched neck are caught in quick, energetic strokes. The group is far more loosely drawn than the measured head above.
