A young couple and Death, by Goltzius (1600, c.)
Gender perspective: A single image of Death in the form of a skeleton threatens the two lovers. The skeleton's skull is covered and has long hair, normally female attributes, while playing the violin, normally a male attribute, like the man with the lute in the image. The skeleton is placed between the two living characters, as if threatening the two at the same time.
Goltzius, Hendrik (1558-1617)
Found on artnet.com<br /><a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/hendrik-goltzius/a-young-couple-and-death-bpbgYPy9a0b5M7ZYREvNyA2">http://www.artnet.com/artists/hendrik-goltzius/a-young-couple-and-death-bpbgYPy9a0b5M7ZYREvNyA2</a>
1600, c.
Engraving.
Dimensions: 14.6 × 11.6 cm
Disputacioun Betwyx the Body and Wormes, by Unknown Miniaturist (1460, c.)
"<span>This colored pen drawing presents a monument known as a </span><i>transi</i><span> tomb which gives two views of the body of the deceased. In this case in the compartment above the woman is beautifully dressed, reclining with her hands folded in prayer, and further distinguished by the heraldic signs of many noble families. Below she is a cadaver in a shroud, her head a grinning skull, her fine clothing gone, and her flesh a feast for worms, lizards, and toads. The details of each figure are carefully represented for greater contrast. The richly dressed woman wears a red, flounced robe, a decorative bodice, perhaps made from ermine, and a lined mantle. Her multicolored, horned headdress with a veil bears witness to fashionable tastes, while the crown marks her high social status. She rests in comfort on a rich pillow decorated with four tassels. In the grave below the woman has lost all these marks of distinction. She has pulled a scrap of the shroud across her hips as a last defense against the vermin. Unlike the figure above, she turns toward her viewers and engages them directly while they read her words about the inevitability of death and the need to prepare for it (see the full inscription below)." (</span>Description from "Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index", <a href="https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504">https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504</a>, Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190418005130/https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504">https://web.archive.org/web/20190418005130/https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504</a>)
Unknown Miniaturist, English (Unknown)
British Library, London, UK. <br /><a href="http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/medieval/death/large13952.html">http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/medieval/death/large13952.html</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191110173546/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/medieval/death/large13952.html">https://web.archive.org/web/20191110173546/http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/medieval/death/large13952.html</a><br /><br />
<div id="largeimagefooterlinks">© The British Library Board</div>
<br />In Manuscript Add. 37049 f.32v.<br /><a href="http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=IAMS032-002055593&indx=1&recIds=IAMS032-002055593&recIdxs=0&elementId=0&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=&dscnt=0&frbg=&scp.scps=scope%3A%28BL%29&tab=local&dstmp=1594067708977&srt=rank&mode=Basic&&dum=true&vl(freeText0)=Add%20MS%2037049%2032v&vid=IAMS_VU2">http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=IAMS032-002055593&indx=1&recIds=IAMS032-002055593&recIdxs=0&elementId=0&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=&dscnt=0&frbg=&scp.scps=scope%3A%28BL%29&tab=local&dstmp=1594067708977&srt=rank&mode=Basic&&dum=true&vl(freeText0)=Add%20MS%2037049%2032v&vid=IAMS_VU2</a><br /><br />Also found in webpage "Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index"<br /><a href="https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504">https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190418005130/https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504">https://web.archive.org/web/20190418005130/https://inpress.lib.uiowa.edu/feminae/DetailsPage.aspx?Feminae_ID=32504</a><br /><br /><span>Wikimedia Commons:<br /><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transitory_tomb_-_1435-40.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transitory_tomb_-_1435-40.jpg</a></span><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200706203228/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transitory_tomb_-_1435-40.jpg">https://web.archive.org/web/20200706203228/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Transitory_tomb_-_1435-40.jpg</a>
1460, c.
Pen and ink with wash.
Dimensions: 18 × 18 cm
Tomb of Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk, at St. Mary's Church, Ewelme (UK), by Unknown (1475, c.)
Tomb of Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk, at St. Mary's Church, Ewelme, Oxfordshire. The tomb has two sections: in the top section (left image) the duchess is lying fully dressed with a crown. In the bottom section (right image), the skeleton of the duchess is portrayed, semi-covered by a shroud with her right hand holding the shroud in the low abdomen area. The top section is more ornate whereas the bottom one is bare. This double-decker tomb with the figure of a transi shows the remains of the breast as a gender marker. Another feminine marker, the long hair, is still present; however, the genital area is covered with a gesture of modesty of the hand pulling the shroud over the genitalia. The skeleton and the face are gender-neutral, even masculine-looking given the exaggerated width at the shoulders. The resulting image is androgynous in contrast with the feminine figure of the fleshed statue.
Unknown
Tomb of Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk, at St Mary's Church, Ewelme, Oxfordshire, UK.<br /><br />Found on website "Meandering Through Time" <a href="https://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/">https://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/</a><br /><br /><a href="https://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/wars-of-the-roses-blog/the-transie-tomb">https://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/wars-of-the-roses-blog/the-transie-tomb</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200529181239/https://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/wars-of-the-roses-blog/the-transie-tomb">https://web.archive.org/web/20200529181239/https://meanderingthroughtime.weebly.com/wars-of-the-roses-blog/the-transie-tomb</a><br /><br /><span>Wikimedia Commons:</span><br /><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tomb_of_Alice_de_la_Pole,_Duchess_of_Suffolk,_at_Ewelme">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tomb_of_Alice_de_la_Pole,_Duchess_of_Suffolk,_at_Ewelme</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200706210911/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tomb_of_Alice_de_la_Pole,_Duchess_of_Suffolk,_at_Ewelme">https://web.archive.org/web/20200706210911/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Tomb_of_Alice_de_la_Pole,_Duchess_of_Suffolk,_at_Ewelme</a>
1475, c.
Alabaster.
Dimensions: Unknown
The Gentleman and Death, by Camprobín (1670, c.)
A woman on the left partially covers her face with a veil. Her eye and part of her right hand are not covered by the veil. The rest of her body is portrayed as a skeleton. A man on the right looks at her while holding his hat.<br />Several traditions are combined in this painting: that of death as a female character, and of prostitutes as using veils while practicing their trade and requesting clients. Death is identified as a female allegorical entity, common in Spanish and other languages. However, we, the viewers, see her lack of sexual attributes under the dark coat. Only the eye and the hand are fleshed and uncovered. The shape of the hole through which we see the eye and the hole of the guitar add a feminine touch to the image. Some degree of sexual tension is present. Given the type of encounter, the tradition of those who see an apparition of themselves in the future as skeletons or corpses is also present. In this case, the male character is confronted by a corpse that can stage female identity.
Camprobín, Pedro de (attributed to) (1605-1674)
<span>Hospital of the Charity, Seville, Spain. </span><br /><span>Wikimedia Commons:</span><br /><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camprobin-el_caballero_y_la_muerte.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camprobin-el_caballero_y_la_muerte.jpg</a><br /><br /><span>Archived in:</span><br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200611162000/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camprobin-el_caballero_y_la_muerte.jpg">https://web.archive.org/web/20200611162000/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camprobin-el_caballero_y_la_muerte.jpg</a>
1670, c.
Oil on canvas.
Dimensions: Unknown
Vanitas bust of a lady with a crown of flowers on a ledge, by Ykens (1688)
This vanitas plays with the confusion of <em>naturalia</em> and <em>artificialia</em>, deconstructing the markers of femininity alluded to the image. This is a fragment of an elegant woman presented as an object, a bizarre statue that emphasizes her breasts, which serves as the feet or stand of the statue. Her fleshed neck and breast contrast with her head, a darkened skull. The whiteness of her teeth reflects the whiteness of the pearls in her necklace, a typical example of <em>naturalia artificialia</em>. The vegetable decorations of her earrings and broaches, possibly made from precious stones, attract a bird that takes them for natural fruits. The rose, a symbol of beauty and fragility, has survived the general decay thanks to its artificial nature, as well as the elegant wig, which is not her true hair. Death has rendered this beautiful woman bust into an artificial decorative object, questioning the reality of her markers of beauty and feminine attractiveness while alive.
Ykens, Catharina (1659- c. 1737)
Private collection. <br />Wikimedia commons:<br /><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catarina_Ykens_II_-_Vanitas_bust_of_a_lady_with_a_crown_of_flowers_on_a_ledge.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catarina_Ykens_II_-_Vanitas_bust_of_a_lady_with_a_crown_of_flowers_on_a_ledge.jpg</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200707012646/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catarina_Ykens_II_-_Vanitas_bust_of_a_lady_with_a_crown_of_flowers_on_a_ledge.jpg">https://web.archive.org/web/20200707012646/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catarina_Ykens_II_-_Vanitas_bust_of_a_lady_with_a_crown_of_flowers_on_a_ledge.jpg</a><br /><br />Auctioned at <span>Sotheby's:<br /><a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.115.html/2017/old-masters-day-sale-l17034">http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.115.html/2017/old-masters-day-sale-l17034</a><br /></span>
1688
Oil on panel.
Dimensions: 21 × 21 cm
Navigation to Heaven or Cartujo Charter, by Carreras (publisher) (1701)
These images appear on different sides of a single sheet of paper. The woman with the lower part of her body portrayed as a skeleton (second image) appears on a side of the paper. When folded over, one can see the same woman, and the half skeleton is replaced by a human body made of flesh and with an ornate dress (first image).
Carreras, D. Luis de (publisher) (Unknown)
Found in Archive.org:<br /><a href="https://archive.org/details/HCa030253/page/n1/mode/2up">https://archive.org/details/HCa030253/page/n1/mode/2up</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200707013541/https://archive.org/details/HCa030253">https://web.archive.org/web/20200707013541/https://archive.org/details/HCa030253</a><br /><br />Identifier: <span>HCa030253<br /></span>Identifier-ark: ark:/13960/t5jb1ck42<br /><br />Also found showing the different images created by folding the paper in todocoleccion.net:<br /><a href="https://en.todocoleccion.net/antiques/navegacion-para-cielo-o-carta-cartujo-grabado-religioso-consejos-impreso-sevilla-1816~x50631149">https://en.todocoleccion.net/antiques/navegacion-para-cielo-o-carta-cartujo-grabado-religioso-consejos-impreso-sevilla-1816~x50631149</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200707013636/https://en.todocoleccion.net/antiques/navegacion-para-cielo-o-carta-cartujo-grabado-religioso-consejos-impreso-sevilla-1816~x50631149">https://web.archive.org/web/20200707013636/https://en.todocoleccion.net/antiques/navegacion-para-cielo-o-carta-cartujo-grabado-religioso-consejos-impreso-sevilla-1816~x50631149</a>
Málaga : D. Luis de Carreras
1701
University of Sevilla Library
Illustration.
Dimensions: 30 cm
Vanitas Still Life, by van Kessel the Elder (1665, c.)
This painting portrays a skull surrounded by flowers, bubbles, and some insects. Some accent gold pieces, like a golden tiara, are also present in the painting.
Kessel the Elder, Jan van (1626 - 1679)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., The USA.<br /><a href="https://www.nga.gov/global-site-search-page.html?searchterm=1995.74.2">https://www.nga.gov/global-site-search-page.html?searchterm=1995.74.2</a><br /><br />Inventory number: <span>1995.74.2</span><br /><br />Also found in Google Arts and Culture:<br /><a href="https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/vanitas-still-life-jan-van-kessel/0wEcoAN0jicKMg?hl=en">https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/vanitas-still-life-jan-van-kessel/0wEcoAN0jicKMg?hl=en</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200710174218/https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/vanitas-still-life-jan-van-kessel/0wEcoAN0jicKMg?hl=en">https://web.archive.org/web/20200710174218/https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/vanitas-still-life-jan-van-kessel/0wEcoAN0jicKMg?hl=en</a><br /><br />Wikimedia Commons:<br /><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanitas_Still_Life_by_Jan_van_Kessel_the_Elder,_1665-70.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanitas_Still_Life_by_Jan_van_Kessel_the_Elder,_1665-70.jpg</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200710174344/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanitas_Still_Life_by_Jan_van_Kessel_the_Elder,_1665-70.jpg">https://web.archive.org/web/20200710174344/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vanitas_Still_Life_by_Jan_van_Kessel_the_Elder,_1665-70.jpg</a>
1665, c.
Oil on copper.
Dimensions: 20.3 × 15.2 cm
Rosary Terminal Bead with Lovers and Death's Head, by Unknown (1500, c.)
"<span>A string of beads is used as a memory aid in the recitation of the rosary, a multipart devotion to the Virgin. Here, the striking terminal bead announces the constant proximity of death by joining a skull to the pair of vivacious lovers. Such an image is known as a memento mori (reminder of death), as it encourages one to reflect on the transience of life." (</span>Description from the Metropolitan Museum of Art webpage,<br /><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299">https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299</a>, Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170703194028/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299#!/web/20170703194028mp_/https://www.metmuseum.org:80/">https://web.archive.org/web/20170703194028/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299#!/web/20170703194028mp_/https://www.metmuseum.org:80/</a>)<span><br /><br />Gender perspective: The two sexes are represented distinctly but their futures, in the form of a single skeleton, is an indistinct status in which no gender differentiation is possible.</span>
Unknown
<span>Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the USA:<br /><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299">https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170703194028/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299#!/web/20170703194028mp_/https://www.metmuseum.org:80/">https://web.archive.org/web/20170703194028/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/464299#!/web/20170703194028mp_/https://www.metmuseum.org:80/</a><br /><br /><span class="artwork__tombstone--label">Accession Number: </span><span class="artwork__tombstone--value">17.190.305</span><br /><br />Wikimedia Commons:<br /><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosary_Terminal_Bead_with_Lovers_and_Death%27s_Head_MET_DT357630.jpg">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosary_Terminal_Bead_with_Lovers_and_Death%27s_Head_MET_DT357630.jpg</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200710175840/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosary_Terminal_Bead_with_Lovers_and_Death's_Head_MET_DT357630.jpg">https://web.archive.org/web/20200710175840/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosary_Terminal_Bead_with_Lovers_and_Death's_Head_MET_DT357630.jpg</a><br /></span>
1500, c.
Ivory, with emerald pendant, silver-gilt mount.
Dimensions: 13.6 × 4 × 4.3 cm
Life and death, by Unknown (1790, c.)
"<span>A woman, standing, divided vertically into two, the right side showing her in life, the left side showing her after her death, as a skeleton. The right side shows the pleasures of life: red ribbons in her powdered hair, jewellery, a bouquet in her hand, the skirt hem decorated with a lace trim, a bed of flowers behind her. The left side shows death: she is holding a reaper's scythe, next to her are a dog-eared Bible and a broken candle, and in the background are cold and barren mountains." (</span>Description from the Wellcome Library webpage, <br /><a href="https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng#_ga=2.211593173.1366502811.1594404625-1133108862.1594404625">https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng#_ga=2.211593173.1366502811.1594404625-1133108862.1594404625</a>, Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200710182325/https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng">https://web.archive.org/web/20200710182325/https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng</a>)
Unknown, possibly Austrian or German artist
Wellcome Library:<br /><a href="https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng#_ga=2.211593173.1366502811.1594404625-1133108862.1594404625">https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng#_ga=2.211593173.1366502811.1594404625-1133108862.1594404625</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200710182325/https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng">https://web.archive.org/web/20200710182325/https://search.wellcomelibrary.org/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1202875;jsessionid=B9CD7A827E8B3222C3CD274299D5B54F?lang=eng</a><br /><br />Library number: <span>45063i<br />System number: .b12028757<br /><br />Also found in Wellcome Collection:<br /><a href="https://wellcomecollection.org/works/d536cfes">https://wellcomecollection.org/works/d536cfes</a><br /><br />Archived in :<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200629194129/https://wellcomecollection.org/works/d536cfes">https://web.archive.org/web/20200629194129/https://wellcomecollection.org/works/d536cfes</a><br /></span>
1790, c.
Oil on canvas.
Dimensions: 41.5 × 35.5 cm
The Three Living and the Three Dead, by Madonna Master (attributed) (1310, c.)
<span>"Three living princes, on the left, encounter three corpses, on the right. Below is a Middle French poem describing the encounter." (</span>Description from the British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts webpage,<br /><a href="http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472">http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472</a>, Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170518180400/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472">https://web.archive.org/web/20170518180400/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472</a>)
Madonna Master (attributed to), (Unknown)
<span>British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts</span>, London, UK.<br /><span><a href="http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472">http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170518180400/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472">https://web.archive.org/web/20170518180400/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=472</a></span><br /><br /><span>© The British Library</span><br /><br />From De Lisle Psalter, in Manuscript <span>Arundel 83 part II, f. 127:<br /><a href="http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6458&CollID=20&NStart=83">http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6458&CollID=20&NStart=83</a><br /><br />Archived in:<br /><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190114121012/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6458&CollID=20&NStart=83">https://web.archive.org/web/20190114121012/http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/record.asp?MSID=6458&CollID=20&NStart=83</a><br /></span>
1310, c.
Illustration.
Dimensions: 35 × 23 cm (miniatures approx. 29 ×19 cm)