Study of the head of the bust of 'Emperor Vitellius'

This study is a of a cast from a marble-antique head of the 'Roman Emperor Vitellius'. It was bequeathed to the state of Venice by Cardinal Domenico Grimani in 1523 and is now in the Archaeological Museum, Venice, and dated to the first half of the second century AD. Such casts played a significant role in Tintoretto's studio, used for teaching anatomy and practising drawing from the figure. The large number of drawings from the head, more than 25 sheets in collections around the world, confirms the importance of the Vitellius for studying the face in particular.