Book for Learning to Draw (Livre pour apprendre à dessiner): Six Portrait Heads

1649

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Dominant colour

Book for Learning to Draw (Livre pour apprendre à dessiner): Six Portrait Heads is a 1649 by Israel Henriet, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Israel Henriet
When & what style?: 1649 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This drawing shows five faces—four men with beards and one woman—all sketched in quick, loose lines. Their heads tilt slightly, and the artist left out details like eyes or mouths, focusing just on shapes and hair. One man wears a turban, another a hat with a flat brim, and the woman’s hair is pulled back under a cloth. These sketches were made as practice studies, likely for a larger drawing book. The artist used simple lines to capture different face shapes and expressions. Next, check out chiaroscuro to see how light and shadow create depth in drawings like this one.