vanitas
It was the skull in the window seat that gave me the idea. I told L that I was going to construct a allegorical representation of the meaninglessness of life. "How very original," he said.
But that was kind of the point. It was supposed to be a pastiche, an homage, a knockoff of all those sixteenth and seventeenth century still lifes,* usually centered around a skull and meant to remind the viewer that life is fleeting, pleasure hollow, knowledge futile, and death inevitable. For fairly obvious reasons, this type of painting is called a vanitas. Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
So, I collected some small objects symbolizing ambition, beauty, love, and wealth and arranged them on top of the metaphor-laden stack of books. I took some photos, chose the best one, cropped it artistically, used the watercolor effect on my photo editor and, look! I have a vanitas of my very own. And it's exactly like everyone else's.
*Like this, or this or this or this.
29 comments:
The colors are beautiful, and I love the watercolor effect. But I'm not sure of the object on the right. What photo editor are you using (if you don't mind?)
I don't recall this type of still life. Its very interesting. Thanks for the morning art lesson!
I'm not sure what the white object on the right on top of the books is. My eyes think it's a little statue of a rabbit licking itself, but probably not. Anyway, very well done. :) You are really quite the artist.
i'm jealous. i don't have a vanitas. although, what would be the point?
Beautiful picture. Just amazing.
That is stunning - awesome job! I am impressed that you had a skull around to use!
Waiting Amy, Eva: It's absolutely true that you can't really make out the objects on the right, though I think that adds to their air of mystery. Or at least I hope it does.
Here's another version, minus the water coloring where you can see them a bit more clearly. There's a silver trophy, a silver ball, a seashell, a ring, and a pair of earrings that look like whitte fluffy cotton balls.
The photo editor I used is iPhoto.
Nice.
Does your photo editor also have a sketch effect? I think this would look very interesting in that. Stark and all.
very, very cool.
I like this...and I didn't know about the watercolour effect in iphoto, gotta go check that out right now. So many possibilities.
But wait. Did you just have the skull lying around? Or did you purchase it? I mean, I have turkey wishbones hanging in the kitchen neatly labeled with the year and the weight of the bird, but we have no skulls.
And they're library books. Nice touch.
magpie: You know, it's not a *real* skull, don't you?
And we keep it around in case one of us gets the urge to reenact the gravedigger scene from Hamlet:
"Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio."
I love it, Niobe. I just love it.
Totally love it, although I thought the object on the right was your cat! (do you even have a cat?!)
I don't know what impresses me more -- the photo, the initiative to do this, or the fact that you have a (play) skull in your home.
"And furthermore, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh."
Ecclesiastes 12:12
"So I commended mirth, that a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry, and that this should accompany him in his labour all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 8:15
So, you know, whatever makes you happy! :-)
I love the fact that you can't make out the smaller objects.
I can count on your posts to keep exposing me to new ideas. Thanks.
Great photo.
cool.
i have always been fascinated by vanitas paintings, and your interpretation is awesome!
my favorite vanitas style painting is The Ambassadors by Holbein.
so, did you intentionally check out those books on the American party system for this piece, or did you just happen to have them lying around? is the subject matter part of the message?
Furrow: It was more the color than the subject matter that I liked.
But, at the moment, the house is full of library books related to the use of French Revolutionary symbolism by the political parties of the early Republic, from, say, 1789 to 1799. Which turns out to be a very interesting topic.
What I love most is L's response. If I told my husband what you told L, he would look at me like I was off my rocker. Not only that, he wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about (not because he is a dense man, but because that is not his area of expertise, knowledge or even remote interest). I may be wrong, but I think his response shows how much he "gets" you. And for some reason I think that may be easier said than done. (Big Smile!)
A little lesson in art - which I know nothing about. I feel a bit more cultured today. I like the watercolor effect.
I love your description of this.
i don't know why you couldn't add your link before, but it worked for me, so I've added this to Monday Missions. Thanks for playing along!
I was just thinking of you this weekend, Niobe, as I tried to get some clever shots of Christmas baubles dangling from my tree. They never seem to come out just right. I was wishing you could take the pics for me, photo genius that you are.
You are a photo genius. These are lovely, and I like your words very much. Susiej
I hadn't heard the term "vanitas" before but I recognized the theme. Interesting to learn about and I like your creation.
very creative and interesting....
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