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Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull

Artist Lucas van Leyden (Netherlandish, ca. 1494–1533)
Title Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull
Date Ca. 1519
Medium Engraving on paper
Dimensions Image: 7 1/4 × 5 11/16 in. (18.4 × 14.4 cm)
Plate: 7 3/8 × 5 3/4 in. (18.7 × 14.6 cm)
Sheet: 7 7/16 × 5 13/16 in. (18.9 × 14.8 cm)
Credit Line Gift of Ernst Anspach, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number 63.157

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About this Work

When this print was first acquired in the early 1960s, it was still believed to be a self portrait of the artist. This assumption was based on the inclusion of an impression by Theodore Galle in Domenicus Lampsonius' Portraits of Very Famous Painters from Belgiun (1600). It is, however, now generally believed to be simply an allegorical depiction of a vanitas theme. As such, an extravagantly dressed young man with thick, curly hair holds a skull as a memento mori, reminding viewers of the fleeting nature of youth, wealth, and vanity.


Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Portrait of a Young Man with a Skull | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=63.157