376 - Lucas van Leyden (1494 – Leiden – 1533), Young Man with a Skull.

Lucas van Leyden (1494 – Leiden – 1533), Young Man with a Skull. Engraving on laid paper with an unrecognizable watermark. (c. 1519). 18.5 x 14.5 cm (sheet). Bartsch VII, 409, no. 174; New Hollstein 174 I b (of II). A fine impression of the first state (of two; New Hollstein b), printed very clearly with a few small scratches on the plate. Trimmed outside the borderline on all sides; the borderline has been partially redrawn in black ink. Although the engraving has occasionally been interpreted as a possible self-portrait, the focus is not on the individual depiction but on the transience of life. With his gesture, the young man points to the skull—a traditional symbol of the finiteness of human existence. His elegant clothing and elaborate hat serve to emphasize the vanitas motif: worldly wealth and beauty are just as fleeting as life itself. – With smoothed-out, age-related creases, barely visible on the front. A horizontal, closed tear along the right edge. Slightly thinned in the upper corners on the reverse, otherwise in good condition. Taxation: subject to differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme).