Studies of Heads 1510 - 1561

Editor: This is Battista Franco’s "Studies of Heads," created sometime between 1510 and 1561. It’s an etching, so a print, currently held at the Met. It feels like a page torn from a fascinating sketchbook. What do you see when you look at this collection of faces? Curator: It reminds me of flipping through old anatomy textbooks, those beautiful, slightly unnerving explorations of the human form. But there's a raw energy here, almost a frenzy of observation. Notice how Franco isolates features - an eye, an ear, a nose. He’s dissecting the anatomy of expression itself. Do you feel that almost scientific detachment too, despite the artistry? Editor: I do see that now, the almost clinical way he breaks down the face. But beyond the anatomical, is there a story these faces are trying to tell us? Curator: I think the story is in the *attempt* to capture. He's after something fleeting – the inner life made visible. Those heavily etched lines seem to vibrate with the effort. And the fact that it’s a print, made to be reproduced, suggests Franco wanted to share this act of seeing with others, like inviting us into his workshop. What kind of workshop do you imagine it to be? Editor: A wonderfully cluttered one, filled with interesting characters coming and going! It is intriguing how it’s meant to be shared widely, the result of such intimate studies. I didn’t initially think about that, but I appreciate how that perspective changes the entire tone. Thanks! Curator: Precisely! Sometimes art whispers its secrets; other times, it shouts them if you only lean in to listen. A wonderful thing about it is that there is a new point to learn about it every single day!