Kind met drie schedels
1529
Medium
engraving
Dimensions
42; 58
About this artwork
height 42 mm x width 58 mm
Art Historical Context
Barthel Beham’s 1529 engraving *Kind met drie schedels* (“Child with Three Skulls”) is a striking example of the small-scale prints produced by the so-called “Little Masters” of sixteenth-century Nuremberg. Measuring just 42 by 58 millimetres, the work demonstrates the remarkable precision possible in engraving, a medium that allowed artists to circulate detailed images widely and affordably during the early years of the Reformation. The composition presents a child alongside three skulls, a clear memento mori motif reminding viewers of life’s brevity. Such imagery was especially resonant in ...
About the Artist
Barthel Beham · 1502–1540
Barthel Beham (1502–1540), a pivotal figure in the German Renaissance, was born in Nuremberg into a family of artists. The younger brother of the renowned engraver Hans Sebald Beham, he honed his craft under the tutelage of his elder sibling and the master Albrecht Dürer, absorbing the precise techniques of engraving and painting that defined Nuremberg's vibrant artistic scene. Emerging as a prodi...