Bone Fool

Hans Leinberger (c. 1470 - c. 1530, Ambras Little Death, Death as a hunter with bow and arrow, before 1519. Pear wood. H. 22.5 cm. Ambras Castle Innsbruck.

Since the 15th century, death has been symbolized by the attributes of arrow, bow, and quiver; these, in turn, according to the verses of the 7th Psalm of David, point to God, the righteous judge of the righteous against the wicked: "God is a righteous judge. / And a God who threatens daily. / If one does not repent, he has sharpened his sword. / And has bent his bow and aimed. / And has laid deadly arrows upon it. / He has prepared his arrows to destroy" (according to Luther's translation, 1545). The unpainted figure, carved in the round from pear wood, depicts death with arrows in his raised right hand, a bow in his left, and a quiver slung over his shoulder. Ribs and bones are partially exposed, and shreds of skin and clothing hang from the skeleton. The expansive contrapposto pose is striking. This exceptional pose and the dynamic twist of the body have contributed to attributing the sculpture to the Landshut woodcarver Hans Leinberger, one of the leading wood sculptors in Lower Bavaria at the transition from the Late Gothic to the Renaissance. This attribution is based on a comparison with the bronze figure of Albrecht IV of Habsburg for the tomb of Emperor Maximilian I in the Innsbruck Court Church, which displays a similar contrapposto pose. Hans Leinberger created the model for this larger-than-life statue in 1514, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I, based on a design by Hans Burgkmair. The "Little Death" was presumably also made for Emperor Maximilian I and is undoubtedly the most artistically significant exhibit from the Maximilian era in the Ambras Art and Curiosity Collection. The sculpture most likely came to the art chamber of Archduke Ferdinand II as an heirloom, where it is listed in the inventory of 1596 as follows: "Death with his bow and quiver, very artfully carved from wood".

Antonio de Pereda -  The Knight’s Dream (detail)

Edwaert Collier - Vanitas (detail)

Pieter Claesz - Vanitas

Unknown artist - Vanitas with a Rosary

Unknown artist - Memento Mori: Vanitas

Wilhelm Trübner - Vanitas Stillleben

Gaston Marie Martin - Vanitas with books

Carlos Barahona Possollo - Vanitas Vanitatum

Dirck Jacobsz - Portrait of Pompeius Occo (detail)