A vanitas is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, often contrasting symbols of wealth and symbols of ephemerality and death. Best-known are vanitasstill lifes, a common genre in Netherlandish art of the 16th and 17th centuries; they have also been created at other times and in other media and genres.[1]
Vanitas by Antonio de Salgado
Some of the objects found in 'vanitas'paintings had a quite direct meaning, for instance the skull, which is regarded as the universal symbol of death. Some other objects were had a more subtle message and its meaning made more sense back in XVII century. A vanitas painting is a particular style of still life that was immensely popular in the Netherlands beginning in the 17th century. The style often includes with worldly objects such as books and wine and you will find quite a few skulls on the still life table.
Etymology[edit]
The Latin noun vanitas (from the Latin adjective vanus 'empty') means 'emptiness', 'futility', or 'worthlessness', the traditional Christian view being that earthly goods and pursuits are transient and worthless.[2] It alludes to Ecclesiastes1:2; 12:8, where vanitas translates the Hebrew word hevel, which also includes the concept of transitoriness.[3][4][5]
Themes[edit]
Pier Francesco Cittadini from 17th century school
Vanitas themes were common in medieval funerary art, with most surviving examples in sculpture. By the 15th century, these could be extremely morbid and explicit, reflecting an increased obsession with death and decay also seen in the Ars moriendi, the Danse Macabre, and the overlapping motif of the Memento mori. From the Renaissance such motifs gradually became more indirect and, as the still-life genre became popular, found a home there. Paintings executed in the vanitas style were meant to remind viewers of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. They also provided a moral justification for painting attractive objects.
Motifs[edit]
Vanitas by Harmen Steenwijck
Common vanitas symbols include skulls, which are a reminder of the certainty of death; rotten fruit (decay); bubbles (the brevity of life and suddenness of death); smoke, watches, and hourglasses (the brevity of life); and musical instruments (brevity and the ephemeral nature of life). Fruit, flowers and butterflies can be interpreted in the same way, and a peeled lemon was, like life, attractive to look at but bitter to taste. Art historians debate how much, and how seriously, the vanitas theme is implied in still-life paintings without explicit imagery such as a skull. As in much moralistic genre painting, the enjoyment evoked by the sensuous depiction of the subject is in a certain conflict with the moralistic message.[6]
Composition of flowers is a less obvious style of Vanitas by Abraham Mignon in the National Museum, Warsaw. Barely visible amid vivid and perilous nature (snakes, poisonous mushrooms), a bird skeleton is a symbol of vanity and shortness of life.
Vanitas by Jan Sanders van Hemessen
Outside visual art[edit]
In modern times[edit]
See also[edit]References[edit]
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vanitas&oldid=941055416'
A vanitas painting is a particular style of still life that was immensely popular in the Netherlands beginning in the 17th century. The style often includes with worldly objects such as books and wine and you will find quite a few skulls on the still life table. Its intent is to remind viewers of their own mortality and the futility of worldly pursuits.
Vanitas Reminds Us of Vanities
The word vanitas is Latin for 'vanity' and that is the idea behind a vanitas painting. They were created to remind us that our vanity or material possessions and pursuits do not preclude us from death, which is inevitable.
The phrase comes to us courtesy of a biblical passage in Ecclesiastes. In the King James Version ('Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity,') the Hebrew word 'hevel' was incorrectly translated to mean 'vanity of vanities,' when it means 'pointless, meaningless, futile.' But for this slight mistranslation, vanitas would rightfully be known as a 'meaningless painting,' which is far from the intent of the makers.
The Symbolism of Vanitas Paintings
A vanitas painting, while possibly containing lovely objects, always included some reference to man's mortality. Most often, this is a human skull (with or without other bones), but items like burning candles, soap bubbles and decaying flowers may be used for this purpose as well.
Other objects are placed in the still life to symbolize the various types of worldly pursuits that tempt humans. For example, secular knowledge like that found in the arts and sciences may be depicted by books, maps, or instruments. Wealth and power have symbols like gold, jewelry, and precious trinkets while fabrics, goblets, and pipes might represent earthly pleasures.
Beyond the skull to depict impermanence, a vanitas painting may also include references to time, such as a watch or hourglass. It may use decaying flowers or rotting food for the purpose as well. In some paintings, the idea of the resurrection is included as well, represented as sprigs of ivy and laurel or ears of corn.
To add to the symbolism, you will find vanitas paintings with the subjects placed in disarray compared to other, very tidy, still life art. This is designed to represent the chaos that materialism can add to a pious life.
Vanitas is very similar to another type of still life painting, known as memento mori. Latin for 'remember you must die,' this style tended to include only those objects that remind us of death and refrained from using the materialistic symbols.
A Religious Reminder
Vanitas paintings were meant not only as works of art, they also carried an important moral message. They were designed to remind us that the trivial pleasures of life are abruptly and permanently wiped out by death.
It is doubtful that this genre would have been popular had the Counter-Reformation and Calvinism not propelled it into the limelight. Both movementsâone Catholic, the other Protestantâoccurred at the same time as vanitas paintings were becoming popular, and scholars today interpret them as warning against the vanities of life and the representation of the Calvinist morality of the day.
Like the symbolic art, the two religious efforts emphasized the devaluing of possessions and success in this world. They instead, focused believers on their relationship with God in preparation for the afterlife.
The Vanitas Painters
The primary period of vanitas paintings lasted from 1550 to around 1650. They began as still lifes painted on the backside of portraits as an explicit warning to the subject, and evolved into featured works of art. The movement was centered around the Dutch city of Leiden, a Protestant stronghold, though it was popular throughout the Netherlands and in parts of France and Spain.
In the beginning of the movement, the work was very dark and gloomy. Toward the end of the period, however, it did lighten up a bit. The message in vanitas paintings became that although the world is indifferent to human life, the beauty of the world can be enjoyed and contemplated.
Considered a signature genre in Dutch Baroque art, a number of artists were famous for their vanitas work. These include Dutch painters like David Bailly (1584â1657), Harmen van Steenwyck (1612â1656), and Willem Claesz Heda (1594â1681). Some French painters worked in vanitas as well, the best-known of which was Jean Chardin (1699â1779).
Many of these vanitas paintings are considered great works of art today. You can also find a number of modern artists working in this style. Yet, many people wonder at the popularity of vanitas paintings by collectors. After all, doesn't the painting itself become a symbol of vanitas?
Sources and Further Reading
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