Sleeping Child with Four Skulls (reverse copy)
1595–1637
Medium
Engraving; reverse copy
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 1/8 × 3 1/16 in. (5.4 × 7.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harry G. Friedman, 1962
Accession Number
57.658.40
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the quiet intimacy of this small engraving, *Sleeping Child with Four Skulls (reverse copy)*, we encounter a poignant memento mori from the late Renaissance. Created by Lucas Kilian (1595–1637) as a reverse copy of an original by Barthel Beham—one of the German "Little Masters" known for intricate small-scale prints—the image depicts a serene, sleeping infant cradled amid four skulls and an hourglass. Measuring just over 2 inches wide, this delicate work invites close contemplation, its tiny scale mirroring the fragility of life it evokes. Engraving, a meticulous intaglio technique where l...
About the Artist
Lucas Kilian|Barthel Beham
Lucas Kilian (1579–1637) was one of the most celebrated engravers of early 17th-century Germany and the most prominent member of the Kilian dynasty of printmakers in Augsburg. Born in Augsburg in 1579, Lucas Kilian achieved international recognition for his technically virtuosic engravings and became a leading figure in the transition from late Renaissance to early Baroque printmaking styles. His ...