Vanitas
A type of still life that reminds you that life is short and everything fades.
What is it?
Vanitas is a style of still life painting from the 1600s. It includes symbols like skulls, hourglasses, or rotting fruit to remind viewers that death comes to everyone. The still life you saw might have vanitas elements: the dead animals and ripe fruit could mean that life is fleeting.
Why it matters
Vanitas paintings teach a lesson: enjoy life, but don't forget that it ends. They help us think about what really matters.
Where you've seen it
This list grows as you capture more vanitas objects.
