Axial Commons Image Treasury
Oil painting of an anxious man in a red chair holding a skull beside a green-draped table, with books and skulls scattered on the floor.

An anxious man comparing his own head to a skull, using the technique of phrenology. Oil painting by Theodore Lane, 182-.

A seated man in a grey coat, red-heeled shoes and a fur-trimmed cap raises a hand to his head while he grips a small skull on a table draped in green cloth. Dark wooden walls, a green bottle, books and scattered skulls fill the cluttered interior.

Artist
Theodore Lane
Date
[between 1820 and 1829]
Medium
Oil paintings Paintings
Source
Wellcome Collection
Size
2997 × 4000 px
Download full size
Public domain · Wellcome Collection marks it Public Domain Mark; made by 1829.
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

Español: Hombre ansioso comparando su cabeza con un cráneo, escena de frenología

Un hombre sentado, con abrigo gris, zapatos de tacón rojo y gorra con ribete de piel, lleva una mano a la cabeza mientras sostiene un pequeño cráneo sobre una mesa cubierta con tela verde. Las paredes de madera oscura, una botella verde, libros y cráneos dispersos completan el interior.

Português: Homem ansioso comparando sua cabeça com um crânio, cena de frenologia

Um homem sentado, com casaco cinza, sapatos de salto vermelho e boné com acabamento de pele, leva a mão à cabeça enquanto segura um pequeno crânio sobre uma mesa coberta por tecido verde. Paredes de madeira escura, uma garrafa verde, livros e crânios espalhados completam o interior.

More from Vanitas and Memento Mori

Still life painting with a skull, hourglass, stacked books and a letter on a dark draped table against a brown wall.Vanitas stillevenBlack-and-white caricature of a phrenology lecture: a bald lecturer points at a chart before a crowded audience, with plaster heads and skulls on shelves and tables.George Combe lecturing on phrenology, portrayed with protuberances on his head. Coloured lCrowded Mannerist painting of two embracing women in a classical piazza, with a nude old man and lion at left, a seated nude beggar at right, and a skull on the floor.Visitation (Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth in the Presence of Saints Joseph and Jerome)Engraved phrenology chart with skull and brain diagrams, head outlines, three male portraits, and a dense printed index in columns.Phrenological diagrams of the skull and brain, with three portraits: Laurence Sterne, a maEngraved vanitas print: a man and woman seated with a skull, hourglass and scattered objects, framed by ornate scrollwork and a banner.VanitasPainting of a green wrathful figure with orange hair and bared fangs standing on grey swirling clouds against a pink cloud background.A green Tibetan demon (?) holding a skull cup and a vajra in its hand. Gouache painting by