“Two Flayed Men and Their Skeletons”

Domenico del Barbiere, a 15th-century artist, engraved "Two Flayed Men and Their Skeletons" (1506-1565). The exact year the work was created is debatable, although speculations place it between 1540 and 1545. The Elisha Whittelsey Collection categorizes it as a print. The engraving was added to the collection in 1949 as a result of the Elisha Whittelsey Fund (metmuseum). The work represents the work of a notable sculptor under the patronage of Francis I, depicting what is thought to have been a composition for an anatomy book by Rosso Fiorentino although the signature on the engraving suggests that the work could have been the artist’s own idea. Primarily representing two couples of a skeleton and a flayed figure of a man in the nude, The pairs of figures face forward and backward respectively from left although there is a marked difference in them with the symbols of prestige and plunder evident on the figures on the left and absent in the right. The curtain that covers most of the right side from the middle also seem to separate the two sets of figures in more than just physical and material ways.

I chose this engraving for my reflection of art because it brings together a lot represented in the visual art that featured most of the Renaissance period Italy. The engraving combines many features of visual art from the artistic, to humanistic and scientific perceptions of the human physic. The work of art represents my perennial support for liberal arts and rediscovery of the individual intellect in presentation of art that surpasses antique models. I chose this picture because it represents so much of the spirit in the 15th century artistic development of visual art in Italy.

This particular piece of art stands out from the art in the period because of the thematic depth of the representation in the engraving. Although there is an inclination towards a didactic meaning from the inherent anatomist expression of lifelike sculptural human figures, this work of art invokes more than mere anatomist interpretation of the print work (Bambach). To the extent that most artistic work in the Renaissance is essentially anatomist can be attributed to the zeitgeist that also influenced the work of other artists in the period such as Leonard da Vinci (1452-1519) (metmuseum). The engraving of the two men and skeletons beside them makes me look at art in a different way that is not at first obvious or didactic from the period the art comes from. The masculine figure on the left has a wreath and the skeleton has a robe suggesting it could be a royal couple with all the possessions around them. The implication is that the other figures are a couple too but the masculine figure seems to try to establish contact with the “female” skeleton in the tent. The engraving may represent visual form of the period but it suggests more than just didactic interpretation that invites a critical introspection in to the mind of the artist in the production of the engraving. I think the engraving has a message to communicate to the modern times about the possible gender roles in society that the artist perceived but concealed in his art.

































Works Cited

Bambach, Carmen. Anatomy in the Renaissance. October 2002. 25 April 2017 .

metmuseum. "Florence and Central Italy, 1400-1600 A.D." 2017. The MET. 25 April 2017 .

metmuseum. "Two Flayed Men and Their Skeletons. "2017. 25 April 2017 .