Promenade

Albrecht Dürer

National Gallery of Art

This print depicts two people, a man and a woman, standing closely side by side. The man is positioned on the left with his body facing us and his head slightly tilted towards the woman, his gaze directed at her face. He has curly hair under a cap adorned with a long feather. The man wears a cloak or cape over a tunic and thin breeches, with a sword hanging from a belt. The woman is on the right, her body facing the man and her face in profile looking at him. She has a high forehead and a prominent chin, and she wears her hair in an updo under an ornate headdress. She wears a long gown with puffed sleeves and detailed draping. Her hands are crossed in front of her waist, resting on her draped skirts. The couple is walking along a dirt path, with a tall plant on the left and a tree to the right. Behind the tree is a skeleton draped in cloth that looks towards the couple, holding an hourglass on its head. In the background there are rolling hills dotted with some trees and small buildings under the empty sky.