The Skeleton

This nightmarish procession reflects the Renaissance obsession with witchcraft. Four powerful attendants try to control the skeletal monster. The naked woman riding the beast seizes the head of a toddler who may be destined for her cauldron. The scattering birds know that nothing good can come from this unfathomable commotion.

This wondrous image remains a puzzle to art historians. It may have been started by Marcantonio and later completed by one of his most important assistants, Agostino de’ Musi.