Description
Coat of Arms with a Skull by Albrecht Dürer combines decorative splendor with a stark reminder of mortality. A crowned young woman stands beside a wild-haired man, while a large shield bearing a skull dominates the foreground. Above it, a helmet, sweeping wings and curling foliage form an elaborate heraldic display.
In this 1503 engraving, the language of a coat of arms becomes a memento mori. The woman’s graceful dress and composed appearance contrast with the skull, whose angled position echoes her head. Dürer’s meticulous rendering gives the feathers, fabric and ornamental forms a remarkable richness, making the warning about life’s fragility inseparable from the visual pleasure of the image.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Dürer collection.
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