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19th Century Italian Roman Vanitas Bust Renaissance Revival Memento Mori Marble

About the Item

Masterfully carved & most impressive Italian Vanitas bust in solid marble from late 19th century. White Carrara marble skull combined with a Belgian Black marble Roman toga (robe). The roman toga shows gorgeous detail like curves / folds in the fabric , it looks stunning. The skull is most impressive carved from Carrara marble and displaying a full laurel wreath crown around its head. The laurel wreath crown is a roman display of triumph in battle which combines perfectly with the ancient roman custom this vanitas displays. We have seen many marble sculptures during our lifetime but this one is simply breathtaking and a very large size. The attention to detail and quality of the sculpture is superb, but this sculpture also carries a beautiful & strong message. Memento mori is Latin for “Remember death.” The expression originates from a specific custom of ancient Rome; when a victorious general was back from war and was brought in triumphal procession through the streets, celebrated by the crowd, he could have been overwhelmed by pride and delusion of grandeur. To prevent this from happening, someone standing behind him, kept repeating: "Respice post te. Hominem te memento. " To remind him he is just a mortal man. The vanitas was also used in ancient Rome to remind you where you come from, you might have achieved great things but you should never forget your origin. During Middle Ages Memento Mori was a medieval theory and practice of reflection on mortality, especially as a means of considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits with a hopeful approach to a glorious afterlife. During the Italian and European Renaissance the approach to the theme of vanitas changes, artists want to communicate to enjoy life with its earthly pleasures as everything is fleeting. The Vanitas movement had its maximum expression in Holland during 17th-18th centuries. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) gave rise to a period of starvation and the art related to the Vanitas theme conveyed this sense of insecurity, later during 18th century Dutch artists used this theme in response to prosperity and attachment to world-pleasures and material goods. The concept of Vanitas can also be found in contemporary art among those artists who use their art for ethical purposes to denounce the way in which the human being is exploiting the world we are living and the way humans are depleting the resources of nature. In any case this concept brings a message of joy and hope. One interpretation could be linked to the hope of a life after death and the second in the urgency to enjoy the beauties that life offers us during our passage on earth. This Vanitas sculpture refers to the old tradition of Ancient Rome and was hand carved in Italy during the renaissance revival late 19th century.