Cleveland Museum of Art

Coat of Arms with a Skull

Albrecht Dürer

Date

1503

Medium

engraving

Culture

Germany, early 16th Century

Department

Prints

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In this visual allegory, Dürer creatively entangled themes of love and death. The hairy wild man, a traditional medieval figure of virility, lust, and aggression, plays the role of lover to a maiden dressed in alluring clothing. The skull on the fanciful coat of arms is a bold reminder that vanity and illicit desire carry a mortal price.

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