Satire on the side

Pier Francesco Mola (Italian, 1612-1666) drew these pen and ink caricatures of priests and clerics to amuse himself and his friends.


His unguarded satirical humor has a special edge, since Mola owed much of his success to important portrait commissions from members of the Church, including the pope.

From the exhibition: The McCrindle Gift: A Distinguished Collection of Drawings and Watercolors, at the National Gallery of Art, through November 25.

Mola on Wikipedia