16 - Agostino Carracci (attributed to)

Agostino Carracci (attributed to) Female Head in Profile Pen and brown ink on paper, 151 x 111 mm The sheet depicts a female head in profile, constructed through a dense network of parallel and intersecting lines, with an extremely controlled pen stroke that effectively defines the volumes of the face and hairstyle.The composition finds a precise counterpart in the “Female Profile” from the series *Esemplare del disegno in gratia dei principianti* (Sample Drawing for Beginners), known through an anonymous engraving based on a design by Agostino Carracci and preserved, among other examples, at the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome. The relationship between this drawing and the print is particularly significant: not only the general composition of the profile, but also the arrangement of the locks of hair and the definition of the eye, nose, and mouth show precise correspondences. The drawing, however, exhibits greater freedom of execution, evident in the presence of lighter marks, overlaps, revisions, and areas left only partially defined—elements consistent with the function of a graphic model preceding its translation into an engraving.From a stylistic standpoint, the drawing can be compared to certain drawings attributed to Agostino Carracci, characterized by a restrained and economical use of the pen, including the *Goat’s Head in Profile*, formerly in the Adrien Collection and sold at Sotheby’s on March 22, 2018, with which it shares the construction of form through short parallel strokes, crossed and modulated according to a sensibility closely linked to the practice of engraving.The work thus constitutes a particularly interesting example within Agostino Carracci’s graphic output and illustrates the complex relationship between creative invention in drawing and its subsequent translation into print.