Sculpture Designs for Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and the Angel of Death

Three standing figures are drawn side by side on a pale sheet, each on a small plinth as if designed for sculpture. At left a bearded elder holds keys and a book; at center a bearded man in a long cloak gestures; at right a winged figure with an hourglass and a scythe stands beside a shield. The pen work is fine, with brown wash modeling the drapery and bodies.

Look closer: A small skull is partly hidden among the scythe's base and the lower figure's feet.

Artist

Anonymous, German, Augsburg or Munich, early 17th century

Date

early 17th century

Medium

Pen and brown and black ink, brush and red-brown wash

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

1987 × 1124 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Brooke Russell Astor Bequest, 2013