Totenschädel.

This 1521 drawing of a skull (Totenschädel) by Dürer is a memento mori study typical of the Northern European contemplation of death. Dürer's scientific interest in anatomy complemented the traditional Christian meditation on mortality that such images served Albrecht Dürer brought Italian Renaissance ideas north, combining German Gothic tradition with classical proportions to become the dominant artist in the German-speaking world Oil on canvas, increasingly preferred over panel in the sixteen

The skull is rendered with scientific anatomical precision, every suture and cavity described with clinical accuracy. The stark isolation of the skull against the plain background emphasizes its symbolic function as a reminder of death.