This portrait depicts the head of an elderly man in three-quarter view, turned towards the viewer's right. The subject is distinguished by his long hair and long wavy beard which flows over his shoulders and chest. The length of the hair and beard are uncommon in Renaissance portraits and suggests, as now, a person of sagacity. The face has a somewhat aquiline nose and is marked by deep lines on the brow and bags below the eyes. It appears as if the man has lost his upper front teeth, causing deepening of the grooves around the nostrils.
Self-portrait
red chalk on paper • 33.3 cm 21.3 cm
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Leonardo da Vinci