Description
This is an outstanding example of a "memento mori," or "reminder of death": a gruesome skeleton clothed in tattered flesh holds a scroll bearing the Latin inscription, "I am what you will be. I was what you are. For every man is this so."
That the artist--probably Hans Leinberger--has depicted the cadaver in a graceful pose that mimics that of Adam in Albrecht Dürer's famous engraving of Adam and Eve is probably intentional; it was due to Adam's sin that humans were subject to death. This carving was surely made for a sophisticated collector--Archduke Ferdinand of Austria owned one also attributed to Leinberger that is not quite so well proportioned--and such a collector would have recognized the source of the pose.
The complexity of the carving of this statuette demonstrates the qualities of boxwood, that the gut could be hollowd out and skin peeled away without the form collapsing.









Figure of Death (Memento Mori)
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
1/12/1962 | Treatment | cleaned |
6/16/1986 | Examination | examined for condition |
6/16/1986 | Treatment | cleaned; repaired; loss compensation |
1/13/1988 | Treatment | other |
10/04/1999 | Examination | examined for condition |
6/26/2002 | Treatment | cleaned; repaired; stabilized |
Exhibitions
- World of Wonder. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1971-1972.
- The Allure of Bronze. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1995.
- Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1998-2001.
- A Renaissance Gem Revealed: Petrarch's Triumphs Disbound. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2002.
- Touch and the Enjoyment of Sculpture: Exploring the Appeal of Renaissance Statuettes. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2012.
Provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Inscriptions
[Inscription] On scroll: SVM/QVOD/ERIS/FUI/Q’D/ES/HOC/E/E’N/OIS/HOMO/ECCLE; [Translation] I am what you will be. I was what you are: For every man is this so.
Credit
Acquired by Henry Walters
Creator
Period
1520s (Renaissance)Accession Number
61.97Measurements
H: 9 3/4 in. (24.7 cm)Geographies
- Germany (Place of Origin)