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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThis drawing depicts five men with highly distorted and aged facial features, ranging from toothless smiles to a wide-mouthed scream. The central figure, crowned with a laurel wreath, maintains a stoic profile while surrounded by these vivid, grimacing characters. The work uses intricate cross-hatching to emphasize the deep wrinkles and anatomical irregularities of the subjects.
These 'grotesque heads' are part of Leonardo's systematic study of physiognomy and the 'moti mentali' (motions of the mind), reflecting the Renaissance belief that outward physical forms reveal internal character and the soul's state. This investigation into nature's 'errors' and extremes was a core component of his natural philosophy, seeking to categorize every facet of the human experience through observation.
Leonardo da Vinci
In his 'Treatise on Painting', Leonardo discusses the importance of representing diverse human types and the 'motions of the mind' through facial expression.
Giambattista della Porta
Della Porta's 'De humana physiognomonia' later formalized the pseudo-scientific study of facial features reflecting character, a field Leonardo pioneered through his sketches.
Object
Oil on panel
portrait
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMSADB01:000014052:mpeg21:p017
Public domain
1397 × 1751 px
2b98a00b84a647efecb02110793aedaf327426ac
September 15, 2024
March 23, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on March 31, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.