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.

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The Last Dance
Restorations Rebecca Tillett Restorations Rebecca Tillett

The Last Dance

The Dance of Death originates in medieval plays and folk rituals performed on the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December), and in funeral sermons. In the most popular version, Death (in the form of a skeleton) dances in succession with people representing particular social ranks (Pope, emperor, king, lawyer, peasant, etc.) and takes away each in turn, demonstrating that nobody, however exalted in this life, can escape death.

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Memento Mori
Personal, History Rebecca Tillett Personal, History Rebecca Tillett

Memento Mori

This is one of our mini 4x6 prints. The original painting is titled Pearl of Grief and was created by Mary Jane Peale in 1855. Mary Jane hailed from a prominent family of painters and in fact, another of our pieces, Swarm Wishes, was created using a portrait of her father, Rubens Peale, painted by her uncle, Rembrandt Peale.

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Memento Mori
glowforge, memento los muertos, memento mori, Strong and Hardy, engraving, process video, instagram post, personal writing Rebecca Tillett glowforge, memento los muertos, memento mori, Strong and Hardy, engraving, process video, instagram post, personal writing Rebecca Tillett

Memento Mori

About 15 years ago I stumbled into an antique store in Colorado Springs, & they had just acquired many new items from a local estate sale. I made a bee line for a stack of old photos I saw. They were really old portraits from a studio in Denver. They’re all signed by the person in the photo. I can only guess that the photographer made it a habit of keeping a copy of all of the photos be shot. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I loved them so I bought them.

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