Foliate Grotesque Head 16th - 17th century

This 16th - 17th century drawing by an anonymous artist depicts a grotesque head, a popular motif in Renaissance and Baroque art. The head, rendered in a detailed and expressive manner, is surrounded by intricate foliate ornamentation, creating a sense of both human and vegetal form. The artist has employed a combination of hatching and shading to model the head's features and the flowing, organic forms of the foliage, suggesting a study for a larger work. This "Foliate Grotesque Head," housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a captivating example of the interplay between the grotesque and the beautiful, typical of the period's artistic explorations.