Figure of Death - Bronze Memento Mori – After Hans Leinberger 1520's

Figure of Death - Bronze Memento Mori – After Hans Leinberger 1520's

A striking bronze interpretation of the celebrated Figure of Death (Memento Mori) attributed to the German Renaissance sculptor Hans Leinberger, originally created in the 1520s.

Mounted upon a substantial marble pedestal, this finely executed figure depicts Death in a hauntingly elegant posture, his skeletal form still partially enveloped in tattered flesh. 

The composition derives from one of the most remarkable examples of Renaissance funerary and devotional imagery. The graceful pose of the cadaver deliberately recalls Adam in Albrecht Dürer’s celebrated engraving of Adam and Eve, evoking the theological connection between the Fall of Man and the inevitability of death.

The original boxwood sculpture, attributed to Leinberger, is renowned for its extraordinary anatomical detail and almost unsettling treatment of flesh, skin and exposed viscera. This bronze version preserves the powerful symbolism and macabre elegance of the Renaissance original while transforming it into a striking object of art and contemplation.

With its dark, solemn presence and rich historical symbolism, it would make an exceptional addition to a cabinet of curiosities, Wunderkammer, private collection, or interior dedicated to antique and macabre art.

Material: Bronze on marble base

Total height: 33.5 cm

Base width: 12 cm

Subject: Memento Mori / Figure of Death

After: Hans Leinberger, c. 1520s

Style: Northern Renaissance / Renaissance macabre art