Head of a Halberdier

This small panel shows a soldier's face in profile, attributed to a follower of Hieronymus Bosch. The man wears military dress and appears to be a guard or mercenary, the type who might appear in one of Bosch's crowded religious scenes.

The work measures 28.2 x 21.3 cm and is painted in oil on panel. It likely represents a fragment cut from a larger composition. A similar figure appears in Bosch's Christ Crowned with Thorns, where a guard in the upper left wears comparable clothing, strikes a similar pose, and even has an arrow piercing his hat. This cropped portrait may come from another version or copy of that same subject.

The Museo del Prado in Madrid calls this piece "Crossbowman" in their records. The museum holds several major Bosch works including The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Haywain Triptych, and Extracting the Stone of Madness. Even as a fragment by a follower, this small panel offers a glimpse into the workshop practices surrounding Bosch's distinctive vision of medieval grotesquerie.