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LEONARDO da Vinci: Five caricature heads

🖼 Five caricature heads, after 1490
Pen and ink on paper
18 × 12 cm
Venice, Italy

Grotesque profiles twist in exaggerated proportions, rendered with Leonardo's precise pen strokes capturing distorted features and aging flesh. These character studies reveal Renaissance fascination with human variation and expression, demonstrating how the master used caricature as both artistic exercise and psychological exploration.

The story of art
The story of art
E. H. Gombrich
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