Antonio de Pereda's Allegory of Vanity
Weiss
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A "Memento Mori" (remember that you will die) is an artistic reminder of the inevitability of death. They can take the form of an hour glass, wilted flowers, a skull. Similarly, Vanitas are works where death is the central theme often to reinforce that same inevitability--the transience of life.
This Vanitas is by Spaniard Antonio de Pereda y Salgado (1611 – 1678).
And a close-up of the table lower right. Excelentes and Reales?
We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
--Severian the Lame
--Severian the Lame
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I'm intrigued by the Roman medal located a bit behind the coins. The legend reads "DIVVS C. AVGVSTVS DICTATOR". Is this supposed to be a Roman era medal or a renaissance era piece? The legend seems odd in that I've only heard of Julius Caesar referred to as Dictator, not Augustus.