Axial Commons Image Treasury
Woodcut: a skeleton raises a spear toward an elderly figure propped on pillows in a wooden chair, with a sprig of branches above.

A sick old woman, sitting supported by pillows as a skeleton pounces aiming his spear at her eyes. Woodcut by Tobias Stimmer, 1580.

A skeleton leans in from the left, raising a spear toward the face of an elderly figure who sits propped on pillows in a wooden chair. Fine crosshatched woodcut lines model the cloth, cushions, and bare bones against a pale paper ground.

Artist
Tobias Stimmer
Date
[1580]
Medium
Emblems Woodcuts
Source
Wellcome Collection
Size
3560 × 4000 px
Download full size
Public domain · Wellcome Collection marks it Public Domain Mark; made by 1580.
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: Public Domain Mark (Wellcome Collection)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Wellcome Collection

Español: Anciana enferma y un esqueleto que apunta una lanza a sus ojos

Un esqueleto se inclina desde la izquierda y levanta una lanza hacia el rostro de una figura anciana recostada sobre almohadas en una silla de madera. Finas líneas cruzadas de xilografía modelan la tela, los cojines y los huesos desnudos sobre un fondo de papel claro.

Português: Idosa doente enquanto um esqueleto mira uma lança em seus olhos

Um esqueleto avança da esquerda e ergue uma lança em direção ao rosto de uma figura idosa apoiada em travesseiros sobre uma cadeira de madeira. Finas linhas cruzadas da xilogravura modelam o tecido, as almofadas e os ossos nus sobre um fundo de papel claro.

More from Alchemy and Hidden Wisdom

Black and white woodcut: winged Fame blows a trumpet above a banner, while a man and dog ride a sleigh pulled by giant lobsters over reeds.Fame blows her trumpet: below, a man and his dog ride on a sleigh drawn by giant lobsters Woodcut of a skeleton holding an hourglass beside a seated elderly man in a fur-trimmed robe who looks downward, with a bare tree behind.An elderly man taunted by a skeleton, as he sits and ponders in a vanitas conceit. WoodcutEtching of a nude figure on a block attacked by four labeled allegories; Justice enthroned in clouds above.Innocence attacked from four corners by "Iudex", "Persequutiō", "Avaritia" and "Invidia";