Axial Commons Image Treasury
Woodcut: a skeleton raises a spear toward an elderly figure propped on pillows in a wooden chair, with a sprig of branches above.

A Sick Old Woman as a Skeleton Aims a Spear at Her Eyes

A skeleton leans in from the left, raising a spear toward the face of an elderly figure who sits propped on pillows in a wooden chair. Fine crosshatched woodcut lines model the cloth, cushions, and bare bones against a pale paper ground.

Artist
Tobias Stimmer
Date
[1580]
Medium
Emblems Woodcuts
Source
Wellcome Collection
Size
3560 × 4000 px
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Public domain · Wellcome Collection marks it Public Domain Mark; made by 1580.
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: Public Domain Mark (Wellcome Collection)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Wellcome Collection

Alchemy and Hidden WisdomAnatomy and Medicine16th centuryengravingmemento moriemblemwoodcutskeletonspeardeathwooden chairelderly figurespillowblack and white

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