Images of the skull in art

[Mona]

Vladimir For the author's post. I have not read all коментов, a lot of them, and so little time.

In any case report that it is a genre vanitas, ie this genre, where there is an image of the skull (in a soft option - hours). In the genre of vanitas can be performed everything from traditional genres - still life, portrait, genre painting, character composition, sculpture, etc. There is a name for the genre of Latin phrases Vanitas vanitātum et omnia vanitas, as it is drawn from the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, and translates roughly as "Vanity of vanities and everything in this world is vanity!", ie hints at the frailty of life and the fact that nothing is permanent in this world.

 Therefore, to understand just what it was about and what kind of image, say (for example) on the still life vanitas