From the Vaults of the Unhinged: Memento Mori: A Skeleton in a Niche
Rebecca Tillett Rebecca Tillett

From the Vaults of the Unhinged: Memento Mori: A Skeleton in a Niche

Long before skulls became shorthand for rebellion, fashion, or Halloween décor, they served a much simpler purpose: a warning. A reminder. A confrontation.

This month’s From the Vaults of the Unhinged feature is Memento Mori: A Skeleton in a Niche, a late 15th-century engraving by Master IAM of Zwolle, a Netherlandish printmaker active around 1470–1495. Now held in the collection of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the engraving is modest in size—just over 6 inches tall—but its message is anything but subtle.

Read More
From the Vaults of the Unhinged: The Screaming Experiments of Dr. Duchenne
Rebecca Tillett Rebecca Tillett

From the Vaults of the Unhinged: The Screaming Experiments of Dr. Duchenne

This particular image, charmingly titled “Terror Mixed With Pain, Torture,” gives us the exact emotional cocktail you expect from someone who has just been wired up like a Victorian Christmas tree. The man’s expression is a frozen scream: eyes wide, mouth collapsing into horror, forehead stretching into an existential telegram reading: “Sir, please stop this.”

Read More