Skeletons in Art

The Crucifixion; The Last Judgment

Jan van Eyck, ca. 1440–41

The thundering skeleton of the modern bells

José Guadalupe Posada, 1905

Broadsheet relating to carnival and the sale of high quality Pulque

Antonio Vanegas Arroyo|José Guadalupe Posada, 1903

[X-Ray of the Mummy of a Raptor]

Dr. Henri van Heurck, 1896

A skeleton dressed as a military figure (vignette for the feast of the dead)

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1890–1910

A skeleton wearing a hat, holding newspapers and running

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1880–1910

Two elegantly dressed skeletons walking, from a broadside entitled, 'El Gran Panteon Amoroso,' published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo.

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1880–1910

A skeleton serving alcohol, from a broadside enitled 'Medicinas de Patente de mas Fama'

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1880–1910

A skeleton with her back turned wearing a coat and hat, from a broaside entitled 'La Calavera de Cupido', published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo.

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1880–1910

A profile of a skeleton with a tophat, a coat, and glasses, from a broaside entitled 'La Calavera de Cupido', published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo.

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1880–1910

Des Circkels unnd Richtscheyts, auch der Perspectiva und Proportion der Menschen und Rosse, kurtze, doch gründtliche underweisung deß rechten gebrauchs

Heinrich Lautensack|Georg Rab|Sigmund Feyerabend and Heinrich Lautensack, 1564

Skeletons (calaveras) riding bicycles

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1900

Skeletons of the good defenders

José Guadalupe Posada|Antonio Vanegas Arroyo|Manuel Manilla, ca. 1900–1910

Broadsheet, on recto skeletons riding bicycles entitled 'From this famous hippodrome on the racetrack, not even a single journalist is missing. Death is inexorable and doesn't even respect those that you see here on bicycles'; on verso skeletons buying and selling printed images etc

José Guadalupe Posada|Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, ca. 1895–1900

Female skeleton playing the guitar (vignette for the feast of the dead)

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1890–1910

A skeleton wearing a hat having a drink (vignette for the feast of the dead)

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1890–1910

Skeleton playing the guitar, from a broaside entitled 'De este famoso hipodromo en la pista, no faltara ni un solo periodista', published by Antonio Vanegas Arroyo.

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1889–1895

A skeleton selling plucked chickens from a broadside entitled 'Una Calavera Chusca'

José Guadalupe Posada|José Sanchez, ca. 1880–1910

Discovery of two bodies

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1880–1910

A skeleton selling fish from a broadside entitled 'Una Calavera Chusca'

José Guadalupe Posada|José Sanchez, ca. 1880–1910

Death Playing the Violin

Charles Jacque, 1846

From an Original Sketch of William Hogarth's in the Collection of Mr. Morrison

George Taylor|William Hogarth|Richard Livesay, March 1, 1782

Tomb with Death Enthroned as a Sphinx

Louis Jean Desprez, ca. 1779–84

Transformation Puppet

Anatomical drawing

Anonymous, French, 18th century, 18th century

Anatomical drawing

Anonymous, French, 18th century, 18th century

Bride, from the Dance of Death

Hans Holbein the Younger|Wenceslaus Hollar, [1651] late 18th century printing

The Abbot, from The Dance of Death

Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Lützelburger, ca. 1526, published 1538

The Emperor, from The Dance of Death

Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Lützelburger, ca. 1526, published 1538

The Old Woman, from The Dance of Death

Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Lützelburger, ca. 1526, published 1538

The arrival of the skeletons of the penitentiary (Posada); two skeleton angels in lower corners of verso (Manilla)

Manuel Manilla|José Guadalupe Posada|Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, 1902

A skeleton wearing a bishop's mitre reading a book (vignette for the feast of the dead)

José Guadalupe Posada, ca. 1890–1910

The cursed year!, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, January 1, 1872

Honoré Daumier, January 1, 1872

December 31st, Table of contents, from 'News of the day,' published in Le Charivari, December 31, 1868

Arnaud de Vresse|Honoré Daumier|Destouches, December 31, 1868

Frontispiece for "Les Fleurs du Mal"

Félix Bracquemond|Charles Baudelaire, 1857

Penitence

Benard|J. J. Grandville|Auguste Desperret, 1834

Having a Good Time ("Se regodean")

Leonardo Alenza y Nieto, 1807–45

Ancient Altar on which sacrifices were performed in antiquity, surrounded by other ruins (Ara antica sopra la quale si facevano anticamente i sagrifizi, con altre ruine all'intorno), from "Prima Parte di Architettura, e Prospettive"

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1750

The Emperor, from the Dance of Death

Wenceslaus Hollar|Hans Holbein the Younger, [1651] late 18th century printing

Death on the Battlefield, from 'The five deaths' (Les cinq Morts)

Stefano della Bella, ca. 1650–64

Death on a battlefield, atop a horse riding towards the left, wearing a hat with many feathers, other figures of Death battling to left and right in the background

Stefano della Bella, ca. 1646

The Devil's Kitchen Visited by an Angel

Conrad Meyer, mid-17th–late 17th century

Skeleton Hanging from a Tree in a Landscape

Paul Bril, late 16th–early 17th century

Allegory of Avarice

Jacopo Ligozzi

The Triumph of Fame from The Triumphs of Petrarch

Dirck Volckertsz Coornhert, ca. 1548–49

Death and the Bishop, from "The Power of Death" (Allegory of Original Sin and Death)

Heinrich Aldegrever|Hans Holbein the Younger, 1541

The Countess, from The Dance of Death

Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Lützelburger, ca. 1526, published 1538

The Dean (or Canon), from The Dance of Death

Hans Holbein the Younger|Hans Lützelburger, ca. 1526, published 1538