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Three Male Heads

1493–1560
Not on view
The subject of this powerful drawing with the head of a man seen in three stages—youth, maturity, and old age—is elusive. Various interpretations have been suggested, from the Ages of Man to an allegory of past, present, and future. The central figure may have been intended as an idealized self-portrait of the artist, the Florentine sculptor and draftsman Baccio Bandinelli. The portrayal of the three heads on the same scale from three different points of view–to the left, frontally, and in profile to the right—betrays Bandinelli's interest in the description of forms in the round, an approach suited to his main occupation, sculpture. The juxtaposition of overlapping heads, turned at various angles, seems to have been a recurring theme in Bandinelli's drawn oeuvre (see: Yale University Art Gallery inv. 1975.101.10; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm inv. 128; National Museum, Cracow inv. XV-1959 and Art Institute of Chicago inv. 1996.606).

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Three Male Heads
  • Artist: Baccio Bandinelli (Italian, Gaiole in Chianti 1493–1560 Florence)
  • Date: 1493–1560
  • Medium: Pen and brown ink over traces of black chalk
  • Dimensions: 12-5/8 x 8-1/8 in. (32.1 x 20.6 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1963
  • Object Number: 63.125
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Study for a Standing Young Man, Raising a Curtain and Looking at Left, Baccio Bandinelli Italian, Red chalk
Study for a Standing Young Man, Raising a Curtain and Looking at Left
Baccio Bandinelli
1518–19
A Rocky Outcrop, Baccio Bandinelli Italian, Pen and brown ink
A Rocky Outcrop
Baccio Bandinelli
1493–1560
Massacre of the Innocents, Baccio Bandinelli Italian, Engraving
Massacre of the Innocents
Baccio Bandinelli
Marco Dente
n.d.
Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence, Baccio Bandinelli Italian, Marble, Italian, Florence
Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), Duke of Florence
Baccio Bandinelli
1539–40
Seated Figure with Cloak and Turban, Baccio Bandinelli Italian, Pen and brown ink
Seated Figure with Cloak and Turban
Baccio Bandinelli
1493–1560

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