Details
LUCAS VAN LEYDEN (CIRCA 1494-1533)
Young Man with a Skull
engraving, circa 1519, on laid paper, with a small indistinct watermark (Posthorn with Cross?), a good impression of the first state (of two), trimmed to the subject, the tips of the sheet corners made up
Sheet 185 x 145 mm.

Provenance:
Unidentified, stamped with letters S,B,F recto (possibly related to Lugt 4854)

References:
Bartsch, Hollstein 174

Please note this lot is the property of a private collector.
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Lot Essay



This is one of the most intriguing prints by Albrecht Dürer's great Netherlandish contemporary, Lucas van Leyden: while Dürer's lansquenets and amorous young men (see other lots in this sale) seem oblivious or surprised by Death awaiting, this melancholic yet elegant young man with his extravagantly plumed hat is fully aware of his mortality. Half hiding the skull underneath his cloak, half showing it to the viewer, he seems to politely remind us that we too are mortal.

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