As well as being a reminder in itself, there was always the link between it and the crucifixion of Christ. For those who chose not to see the more subtle message, there was everything from full-size sculptures of decomposing people to rosary beads with a happy human face on one side and a skull on the other.
Memento mori art full#
The wall of affluent dining rooms would be adorned with images of rotten fruit and insects, or artfully placed skulls next to flowers in full bloom. Many a meal would have had a less digestible dimension. They were to show the vanity of human lives and were not for fun. Painters included them in “Vanitas” paintings. Memento mori were a more serious business during their Renaissance heyday. The ghastliest memento mori were found during the Renaissance
They can now be found in outlets such as British Museum gift shops, where I last saw them being marketed as Christmas decorations. Masked people and colorful skeletons have spread around the world. Perhaps the jolliest and now the most commercialized Christian memento mori are products of the Mexican Day of the Dead. The fun that carvers could have representing skulls, in particular, suggests a lighthearted approach to death that was less common in Christendom. It also became popular in Japan, where the most darkly humorous images emerged. Some forms of Buddhism embrace the subject matter, especially in Tibet. Memento mori became very much a Christian device, although other faiths have shared the concept. It was better to have objects that could be carried around without the covetability of saintly relics.Ĭhristianity is not the only faith to embrace memento mori Most of the faithful have over the centuries settled for more convenient memento mori. Part of the power of relics is that they are more than a reminder of a holy person’s life, they are also the physical essence. They take the form of paintings, sculptures, larger-than-lifesize replicas, or real human remains put on display. The most popular inspiration is a skull or a complete skeleton. The range of memento mori is astonishing.
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