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Allegory on Death

Andrea Andreani

1594

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Renaissance Renaissance Allegory

Dominant colour

Allegory on Death is a 1594 ink by Andrea Andreani, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Andrea Andreani
When & what style?: 1594 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This print is packed with strange, shadowy figures climbing a towering structure. Skeletons, angels, and people in armor mix together in a chaotic pile. Latin words like *Memento Mori* and *Ante Vi Ptam* are carved into the stone blocks. At the bottom, a banner holds a poem in Latin, while the whole scene feels like a dark, crowded dream. The artist used deep contrasts between light and dark to make the figures pop. This trick, called *chiaroscuro*, was a big deal in Renaissance prints. Look up technique: woodcut to see how this print was made.