1592
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
When Your Purse Is Empty, You Eat Bones Not Bacon is a 1592 ink by Hendrik Goltzius, a Renaissance work, depicting Drinking, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a skeleton sitting at a bare table. Its ribs press against its skin. A dog gnaws a bone on the floor. The scene is dark, lit only by a candle that flickers. The artist used tiny lines to shade every surface. Look close: the skeleton’s shadow is made of fine cross-hatching. The paper feels rough under your fingers. It makes you wonder who this print was for. The title’s warning still feels true today. Try looking up Goltzius, Hendrick.
Hendrick Goltzius (German: , Dutch: ; né Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter.
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