Head of a Bearded Man 1579 - 1582

Federico Barocci sketched this head of a bearded man using chalks and charcoal. The composition is dominated by a muted palette, save for the beard, rendered in a vibrant orange-red. This deliberate use of colour draws our eye, encouraging a deeper exploration of the artwork’s formal qualities. Barocci masterfully employs chiaroscuro, a technique that exploits the contrast between light and dark, to model the form. Light gently caresses the man's brow and cheek, creating depth and volume, while the shadowed areas around the eyes and neck intensify the overall sense of gravity. The structural elements of the face - the brow, nose, and beard - are constructed through a series of lines and tonal gradations that coalesce to give shape to the whole. The drawing prompts us to consider the interplay between presence and absence, the seen and the unseen. This emphasis on visual structure invites us to consider how formal elements can provoke a sense of introspective depth and profound human presence.