Kop van een oude man met baard 1604 - 1646

This drawing, Head of an Old Man with Beard, was created by Francesco Furini using colored chalks on paper. The colors are subtle, almost as if aged into the page, a physical manifestation of the man’s old age. When you look closely, you can see the colored chalks have a crumbly texture, giving the drawing a soft, hazy effect, which diffuses the light and shadow. The artist has carefully applied the chalk in layers, building up the colors and tones to create depth and volume. This would have been an exercise in control, moving from general washes of color to the specifics of the nose and eyes, which are full of character. Although these are traditional art materials, drawing was essential to any artistic process in the 17th century. This wasn’t just a preliminary exercise, but an important way of understanding form and expressing ideas. Drawings like this are a reminder that art-making is always a negotiation with the material world, and that the artist's hand is always present in the final product. It encourages us to consider the broader context of artistic production and how it intersects with social values.