Allegory on Death

Andrea Andreani after Giovanni Fortuna

Associated Names
Andrea Andreani

Artist, Italian, 1558/1559 - 1629

Giovanni Fortuna

Artist After, Italian, 1535 - 1611

This is a detailed drawing with macabre and allegorical motifs. It features skeletal and classical elements. The central design includes two putti on an arch with a skull emblem and a skeletal figure below. Flanking the arch are obelisks with Latin inscriptions. Below, there is a segmented wheel with scenes or symbols, encircled by Latin phrases. Near the bottom, an altar-like structure with Latin inscriptions, skulls, and bones suggests the theme of mortality. The artwork seems to be influenced by Renaissance memento mori imagery.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    chiaroscuro woodcut

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.854

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bartsch, Vol. 12, p.135, no. 13, State i


Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

2007

  • The Baroque Woodcut, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2007 - 2008

Bibliography

1802

  • Bartsch, Adam. Le peintre graveur. 21 vols. Vienna, 1802-1821: Adam. Le peintre graveur. 21 vols. Vienna: J.V. Degen, 1802-1821.

Wikidata ID

Q64952837

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