Coat of Arms with a Skull

Albrecht Dürer

1503 · Engraving · Drawings and Prints

In this stunning engraving, Dürer recast the theme of memento mori in a brilliantly unusual form. The woman in patrician dress is identified by her crown as a bride, but the person who embraces her from behind is a wild man. This traditional figure from German folklore is often present at weddings, but his shield, invisible to the young woman, reveals him to be a surrogate of Death. The angle of the skull on the shield is exactly that of the young woman's head.

Artist

Albrecht Dürer

Date

1503

Medium

Engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1919