The Skeletons, a group of emaciated men and women gathered around a skeleton laid on the ground and a figure of Death as a winged skeleton standing above it holding an open book 1515 - 1527

"The Skeletons," an engraving by Marco Dente, made sometime in the first quarter of the 16th century, captures a scene of profound suffering and mortality. Dente, who died tragically young during the Sack of Rome, was deeply influenced by the tumultuous religious and social climate of the Renaissance. The print depicts a harrowing gathering of emaciated figures surrounding a skeleton, while a winged skeleton holding an open book looms above. Consider the intersection of death and judgement: the viewer must confront their mortality. The expressions of despair and resignation on the faces of the living evoke a sense of shared vulnerability in the face of death. The nakedness of the figures serves to underscore the stripping away of earthly vanities, leaving only the bare reality of human existence. Dente’s print serves as a stark reminder of the transience of life, inviting reflection on the spiritual and moral questions that haunted the Renaissance.