1526
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Der Rychman (The Rich Man) is a 1526 ink by Hans Lützelburger, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
In the painting, a man sits at a table, surrounded by piles of coins and a chest. He reaches out to a skeleton holding a tray of coins, as if trying to take them. The scene is set in a room with a window and a door, and the man's expression is one of greed. The image is an allegory, meant to convey a moral message about the dangers of greed and the fleeting nature of wealth. The use of a skeleton as a symbol of death adds a sense of urgency and warning to the scene. This woodcut on laid paper is a great example of Renaissance art. To learn more, check out the Renaissance movement.
Hans Lützelburger (died June 1526), also known as Hans Franck, was a German blockcutter ("formschneider") for woodcuts, regarded as one of the finest of his day.
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