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Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Dressed in exceptionally fine attire––fancy plumes, brocade collar, and slashed sleeves––this young man solemnly points at a skull he is carrying in his cloak. The juxtaposition of the skull and the lavish clothing is a message that frivolous pleasures are misguided and the bravado of youth is ephemeral.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePortrait of a Young Man with a Skull, c. 1519. Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, 1494–about 1533). Engraving; sheet: 18.6 x 14.6 cm (7 5/16 x 5 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Mary Spedding Milliken Memorial Collection, Gift of William Mathewson Milliken, 1941.297
