These skulls representatiom called "memento mori" which in Latin literally means "remember that you have to die" or "remember that you are a mortal". Medieval Latin Christians artists often reflected on mortality and represented it in their works.
The human skull is one of the most often used memento mori figure,, though there are a multitudes ofthat can be place with the same intent. For example, an hourglass, a wilted flower, a tomb, a broken mirror and so on. Often, many of those symbols are represented together as a stil life and you usually see them towards the bottom side of a painting.
Most of the times, memento mori have nothing at all or very little in common with the rest of the painting. At the time, artists were often hired by nobles and people from the bourgeoisie and were asked to have made a paining that celebrates their accomplishments.This practice, very vain in itself for many reasons is often balanced by the use of a memento mo to remind the vanity of earthy life and the transient nature of all earthy goods.
The idea is very much the same as the Carpe Diem (seize the day) It's a reminder to live fully and to do so in the present, since you can't change yesterday and don't know what tomorrow holds for you.
Memento mori have taken diverse forms since then, but are stil today often included in pictural representation.
So, as for your question about representation of human skulls, unless the incorporation within the work is seamless,I feel that in contemporary art or in pop culture, they are used much too frequently and often fails to convey their real raison d'être.
Is it normal to HATE artwork based on SKULLS?
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These skulls representatiom called "memento mori" which in Latin literally means "remember that you have to die" or "remember that you are a mortal". Medieval Latin Christians artists often reflected on mortality and represented it in their works.
The human skull is one of the most often used memento mori figure,, though there are a multitudes ofthat can be place with the same intent. For example, an hourglass, a wilted flower, a tomb, a broken mirror and so on. Often, many of those symbols are represented together as a stil life and you usually see them towards the bottom side of a painting.
Most of the times, memento mori have nothing at all or very little in common with the rest of the painting. At the time, artists were often hired by nobles and people from the bourgeoisie and were asked to have made a paining that celebrates their accomplishments.This practice, very vain in itself for many reasons is often balanced by the use of a memento mo to remind the vanity of earthy life and the transient nature of all earthy goods.
The idea is very much the same as the Carpe Diem (seize the day) It's a reminder to live fully and to do so in the present, since you can't change yesterday and don't know what tomorrow holds for you.
Memento mori have taken diverse forms since then, but are stil today often included in pictural representation.
So, as for your question about representation of human skulls, unless the incorporation within the work is seamless,I feel that in contemporary art or in pop culture, they are used much too frequently and often fails to convey their real raison d'être.