Masque Head

Some Renaissance observers believed that original displays of fantasia, or imagination, were the true mark of an artist. In that spirit, Pierre Milan molded a bizarre collection of motifs into a centurion headpiece. A homunculous rides a crouching beast, and a lifeless piece of angel head statuary lies in the vicinity of the centurion's ear. Milan's forceful contours and decisive linework made him the leading Parisian engraver of his day. Still, he was forever in debt. He would pay his creditors in prints, and at one point owed an estimated 120, 000 impressions to repay a loan.