I principii del disegno. Series of 25, NO. 22. Head of an Old Man Crowned with

Description

These portraits of elderly men in three-quarter view are similar in composition, subject matter, and precision of execution. Their purposes, however, were different. The drawing is a unique work that may have been intended as a preparatory sketch for a larger work of art—a form of visual notation through which the artist developed his ideas. The etching, however, is a finished work; as a print, it could be produced in multiples and disseminated to a wider audience. In both works the subject is closely observed, but the drawing presents greater variety of line. Smoother and more regulated lines define the forms in the etching, and there is a shaper contrast between light and dark.