Skeleton of a Man with Bow and Arrow

1620-1621

Teodoro Filippo di Liagno, called Napoletano

Associated Names
Teodoro Filippo di Liagno

Artist, Italian, 1589 - 1629

This print shows a skeleton standing in a dynamic pose, its head turned towards the left. The skeleton holds a bow in its right hand and reaches for an arrow from a quiver on its back with its left hand. Its skull has hollow eye sockets and a slightly open jaw, and on top of its head are loose, flowing lines that may represent remaining strands of hair. The background is plain, with lines at the bottom suggesting the ground or surface. There is a banner or scroll near the upper left corner with inscribed text.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Funds from Virginia Mars

  • Dimensions

    plate: 14.2 × 8.6 cm (5 9/16 × 3 3/8 in.)
    sheet: 17.4 × 11.4 cm (6 7/8 × 4 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2023.5.15

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Chiarini, no. 417

  • Series Title

    Animal Skeletons

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Hill-Stone, Inc., South Dartmouth, MA); NGA purchase, 2023.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2025

  • Little Beasts: Art Wonder and the Natural World, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2025.

Bibliography

2007

  • Chiarini, Marco. Teodoro Filippo di Liagno detto Filippo Napoletano, 1589-1629: Vite e opere. Florence: Centro Di, 2007, no. 417.

Inscriptions

in plate, in image at top left, on banner: Heu quam MORS Vibras non / evitabile telum Quo pereunt / Homines, quo Pecudesq[ue] cadunt; bottom right corner of sheet, in pen and ink by a later hand: 16

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