Death with Lowered Banner
1505
Hans Baldung Grien serves up a grim reminder of mortality in this 1505 sketch, depicting Death not as a clean skeleton, but as a terrifyingly emaciated corpse caught between life and decay. The figure clutches a drooping banner, its body a roadmap of ribs and sinew rendered with intense, scratchy lines that emphasize its hunger. Baldung was famous for his obsession with the macabre, and here he uses stark white highlights on brown paper to make the decaying muscles pop, creating a figure that looks like it's mid-stride in an eternal dance of death.
- Technique
- Pen and ink with white heightening
- Material
- Prepared paper
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