Vanitas - Latin for vanity, refers to a type of still life consisting of a collection of objects that symbolize death — the brevity of human life and the transience of earthly pleasures and achievements.
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/uv/vanitas.html
VANITAS
Vanitas is a type of Symbolic still life painting commonly used by Northern European painters in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The term Vanitas refers to the arts, learning and time. the word originates from latin and means emptiness. It is loosly translates to the meaningless of earthly life and the transient nature of vanity. Paintings executed in the vanitas style are meant as a reminder of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, encouraging a sombre world view.
Common vanitas symbols include skulls, which are a reminder of the certainty of death
rotten fruit, which symbolizes decay like ageing
bubbles, which symbolize the brevity of life and suddenness of death
smoke, watches, and hourglasses, which symbolize how time passes quickly
and musical instruments, which symbolize brevity and the ephemeral nature of life.
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1 comment:
Well done Chloe,
you are working really well, I'm very impressed with the level of your thought process - you're not afraid to go deep and explore ideas. Keep this up, it will stand you in really good stead for year 11 and 12 (that is, if you are doing art next year - personally, I think you would be an excellent art student)
ms h
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