Gaetano Gandolfi
S. Matteo della Decima 1734-1802 Bologna

Study of Six Heads

Pen and brown ink
202 x 280 mm; 8 x 11 in

PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Belgium

This is a fine example of the autonomous sheets of head studies created by Gandolfi in response to the demand of his own patrons. The tradition for this type of real and imagined studi di testa may date back to the famous example of Leonardo da Vinci, whose caricature drawings were widely disseminated through prints. Gandolfi excelled in this genre. A number of comparable sheets have come down to us, such as that in the Albertina, Vienna. Typical of Gandolfi is his combination of stippling and hatching, a technique more usually associated with the precision of an engraving, and which displays his draughtsmanship at its most brilliant.