"Disegni di volti mostruosi di uomini e donne anziane come critica morale"

Many theories have been proposed to explain Leonardo’s habit of drawing heads and busts of old men and women with ugly or absurdly deformed faces. In considering the meaning of these curious drawings, little attention has been devoted to those notes in which Leonardo expresses his contempt for certain groups of men and for mankind in general. He often lashed out at his contemporaries, specifically for their clumsiness, ignorance, vanity and vices. Moreover, as attested by the jests, fables and prophesies he wrote, Leonardo tended to moralise. This paper argues that, as a moralist and proud man, Leonardo channelled his hurt feelings and anger towards his fellow men by drawing them with ugly or monstrous faces and clad in old-fashioned and ridiculous clothing. In doing so, he emphasized their malicious nature and folly. It is also argued that he intended to publish some of these drawings.