Jump to navigation Jump to content Jump to contact Jump to search Jump to search Jump to footer

Allegory of Transience, so-called Vanitas Group

ca. 1470/80 | Michel Erhart

The three figures, carved from a single piece of wood, represent the beauty of youth and its transience. The degeneration of the body in old age is drastically emphasized through the realism of the masterful polychromy. It is unclear whether the group originally belonged in a larger context, e.g. a clock case, or was already planned as a small antonymous sculpture.

The three figures, carved from a single piece of wood, represent the beauty of youth and its transience. The degeneration of the body in old age is drastically emphasized through the realism of the masterful polychromy. It is unclear whether the group originally belonged in a larger context, e.g. a clock case, or was already planned as a small antonymous sculpture.

Artist:
Michel Erhart , ODER: (um 1440/45 - nach 1522) DNB

Time:
ca. 1470/80

Object Name
Sculpture; Statuette

Culture
Ulm

Material/technology:
Painted limewood

Dimensions:
46,5 cm × 19 cm

Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer

Invs.
Kunstkammer, 1