Jongeman met een schedel 1517 - 1521

Lucas van Leyden’s “Jongeman met een schedel” (Young Man with a Skull), a 16th-century engraving, is a powerful memento mori. The young man, dressed in fashionable attire, holds a human skull, a stark reminder of mortality. The skull serves as a symbol of the ephemerality of life and the inevitability of death, contrasting with the young man's youthful appearance and elaborate feathered hat. This print was created during the Northern Renaissance period, and is known for its high level of detail and precise rendering, characteristic of Leyden's style.