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Wooden statue of woman and skeleton standing back to back

A standing woman holds a hand mirror near her hip. She is nude except for a wide, flat hat, a large necklace, sandals, and a long cloak, which she pulls across her hips with her left hand. Her eyes are downcast, and she smiles slightly. Standing back-to-back with her is a skeleton in a long hooded cloak. Its arms are missing. It is deeply carved and finely detailed. The eye sockets, nose holes, and chest cavity are recessed far into the skeleton’s body. There is some slight cracking along the ribs, but the carving’s surface is smooth and slightly shiny.

Gallery Text

Private patronage of art increased during the sixteenth century, significantly expanding the range of possible subject matter. The new themes often derived from classical models and displayed a naturalism that reflected the growing influence of humanism. Though no longer unequivocally Christian in content, these objects nevertheless continued to address moral issues and to concern themselves with the nature of the soul. For example, the salt cellars, which illustrate the labors of Hercules, are generally a metaphor for the triumph of virtue. With the growth of a mercantile economy and the consequent increase in lay patronage, figures of vanity and death also became popular subjects, as is evidenced by objects in this case.

Carefully carved in a highly naturalistic style, this boxwood sculpture presents a moral lesson: while Vanity wears an elaborate dress and holds a mirror to her face, the figure of death is at her back, a reminder that all earthly things shall pass.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
BR68.2
People
School of Conrad Meit, German (Worms, Germany c. 1480 - c. 1550)
Title
Vanitas
Classification
Sculpture
Work Type
sculpture
Date
c. 1525
Culture
German
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/215493

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2540, European Art, 13th–16th century, The Renaissance
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Boxwood
Dimensions
20.1 x 8 x 8 cm (7 15/16 x 3 1/8 x 3 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, 1968, sold]; to Busch-Reisinger Museum.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Antonia Paepcke DuBrul and Association Funds, and Purchase in memory of Eda K. Loeb
Accession Year
1968
Object Number
BR68.2
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Publication History

  • Europe in Torment: 1450-1550, Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art (Providence, Rhode Island, 1974), no. 46
  • Stephen Perkinson, The Ivory Mirror: The Art of Mortality in Renaissance Europe, exh. cat., Bowdoin College Museum of Art (Brunswick, Maine, 2017), pp. 68, 205, repr. as pl. 51

Exhibition History

  • Europe in Torment: 1450-1550, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, 03/07/1974 - 04/07/1974
  • 32Q: 2540 Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 04/20/2017; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/14/2018 - 01/01/2050
  • The Ivory Mirror: The Age of Mortality in Renaissance Europe, Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, 06/24/2017 - 11/26/2017

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu