A Modern Interpretation of Vanitas
‘‘/ˈvanɪtɑːs/: … 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.’’
Inspired by the still life genre called vanitas, Jan created this unique work where historical symbols of impermanence encounter modern, and in some ways contracting, artefacts such as the mouth mask, the syringe, a swab test and a bottle of disinfectant.
Vanitas is a 17th-century Dutch art-theme in which the meaninglessness and transience of the earthly are symbolically represented through objects such as the hourglass (the brevity of life), rotten fruit (decay) and bubbles (suddenness of death). Conforming to such symbolism, also depicted are Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the deceased, a medieval pest mask, a pomander (to ward off evil), a lab-mouse and, for the panic-buyers amongst us, an empty toilet paper roll.
Dimensions: 40 x 56 cm Medium: Oil on Canvas Year: 2022
sold