Jean-Jacques DE BOISSIEU (1736 - 1810) - "Thirteen Studies of Heads", 1770. Original etching. Signed and dated in the plate. ref: Pérez, n°49. Proof of the 2nd state of 3, on laid paper. Margins. Boissieu's graphic work includes several sketch plates, like this one, where an etching needle was used to draw independent sketches directly on a prepared copper plate. A format initially associated with apprenticeship and the artist's first forays into the medium, the sketchboard became, in the hands of Rembrandt and his 18th-century emulators, a vehicle for virtuosity. Here, Boissieu covered the plate with sketches, mainly of old men, juxtaposing heads drawn at different scales and with different degrees of finish. 31 x 23 cm. Condition A (scattered light foxing in the margins, good condition).