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Memento Mori Title Graphic
Dublin Core
Title
Memento Mori Title Graphic
Creator
Date
2017
Contributor
Language
Identifier
05 Memento Mori - Title.pdf
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Text
Memento Mori
Skulls act as reminders to both the limits of life, and the farce permanence of bones. Bones are the last part of the body to decompose, often remaining in reliquaries or crypts for centuries after the deceased’s passing. A viewer confronted with a skull is compelled to Memento Mori, or “remember that [they] will die.” The motif of the skull often serves a contemplative role in western art. Skulls placed with fruit and other still-life materials compose the tradition of “Vanitas” paintings (a reminder of earthly vanity). Similarly, anatomical texts from the pre-modern period took artistic liberties with their skeletal “actors” to spin narratives of death as well as teach the inner workings of the human body. Trophies like Old Ephraim’s skull serve as a reminder that we all meet the same fate – even the mightiest grizzly.
Ephraim’s Skull, Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier
Library, Special Collections and Archives
Skulls act as reminders to both the limits of life, and the farce permanence of bones. Bones are the last part of the body to decompose, often remaining in reliquaries or crypts for centuries after the deceased’s passing. A viewer confronted with a skull is compelled to Memento Mori, or “remember that [they] will die.” The motif of the skull often serves a contemplative role in western art. Skulls placed with fruit and other still-life materials compose the tradition of “Vanitas” paintings (a reminder of earthly vanity). Similarly, anatomical texts from the pre-modern period took artistic liberties with their skeletal “actors” to spin narratives of death as well as teach the inner workings of the human body. Trophies like Old Ephraim’s skull serve as a reminder that we all meet the same fate – even the mightiest grizzly.
Ephraim’s Skull, Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier
Library, Special Collections and Archives
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