Browse Items (200 total)

In this portrait of Saint Francis Borgia, he appears holding a skull with a crown. The skull is that of Queen Isabel of Portugal. Queen Isabel's beauty was greatly admired by Saint Francis, however, she died at a young age. Just before burring her…

These photographies show the reliquary of what is believed to be St. John the Baptist's skull. "During the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204), Wallon de Sarton, a Crusader from French Picardy, discovered in the ruins of a palace in Constantinople, a relic…

These photographies show the reliquary of what is believed to be St. John the Baptist's skull."In 1557, Duke Wilhelm V was officially granted the right to collect relics by the Pope. He amassed a notable collection of human remains of unknown…

The image represents Mary Magdalen with her right hand to her chest and her left hand placed across her stomach, looking up in tears. In front of her, an open book resting on a skull that faces Mary Magdalen. The skull does not present any visible…

This engraving portrays a skeleton at doomsday that is seating on a grave. Regarding its gender, the skeleton displays neutral gender characteristics, as neither masculine nor feminine attributes are present in the image.

"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…

"At the bottom, the memento mori pendant consists of three conjoined heads, a bearded man with wreath, a skull with worms curling out from his mouth, also with wreath, and a young woman with plaited and knotted hair. Where their heads meet above…

This painting portrays Saint Francis meditating. He is dressed in a brown habit and holds a skull with his hands. A cross appears lying underneath his hands holding the skull. The skull does not present any defining gender traits. However, the way…

This engraving represents the scene when Saint James the hermit looks at a female skeleton. This is one of the few cases where the skeleton's gender is identified as feminine, and this can be seen in the lettering: "Dextera ne flamma(m?) rapiat,…

This image represents Saint Jerome with his hands crossed in front of his chest, and covered by a red cloth. In front of him, we can see a skull with no visual gender traits.