Artwork Page for Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull

Details / Information for Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull

Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull

c. 1519

Lucas van Leyden

(Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533)
Culture
Netherlands, 16th century
Medium
engraving
Measurements
Sheet: 18.6 x 14.6 cm (7 5/16 x 5 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
The Mary Spedding Milliken Memorial Collection, Gift of William Mathewson Milliken 1941.297
Catalogue raisonné
Hollstein 174
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

Dressed in exceptionally fine attire––fancy plumes, brocade collar, and slashed sleeves––this young man solemnly points at a skull he is carrying in his cloak. The juxtaposition of the skull and the lavish clothing is a message that frivolous pleasures are misguided and the bravado of youth is ephemeral.
A vertically oriented engraving depicts a young man from the waist up, facing right. He wears a wide hat with four long, curved feathers and a medallion over curly hair. Below a patterned collar and cloak, his right hand points toward a skull held in his left. Fine, dense cross-hatching and line work define his form against a background of parallel horizontal lines.

Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull

c. 1519

Lucas van Leyden

(Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533)
Netherlands, 16th century

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