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This is a detailed drawing with macabre and allegorical motifs. It features skeletal and classical elements. The central design includes two putti on an arch with a skull emblem and a skeletal figure below. Flanking the arch are obelisks with Latin inscriptions. Below, there is a segmented wheel with scenes or symbols, encircled by Latin phrases. Near the bottom, an altar-like structure with Latin inscriptions, skulls, and bones suggests the theme of mortality. The artwork seems to be influenced by Renaissance memento mori imagery.
National Gallery of Art · Print
Allegory on Death
Andrea Andreani after Giovanni Fortuna
- Medium
- chiaroscuro woodcut
- Classification
- Accession number
- 1943.3.854
- Credit line
- Rosenwald Collection
- Time span
- 1551 to 1600
- Department
- CG-E
Subjects and terms
- Italian
- architecture
- Seated figure
- Death
- chiaroscuro
- Building
- Writing
NGA object ID 4071. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.