
Memento Mori
1 CE
From Pompeii to the Gallery Wall
One famous Roman mosaic from Pompeii shows a skull balanced on a wheel, flanked by symbols of wealth and poverty, with a plumb line hanging above to mark equality in death. Later, European painters filled vanitas still lifes with skulls, burned-down candles, and hourglasses, visualising the same idea for new audiences and new theologies.
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One famous Roman mosaic from Pompeii shows a skull balanced on a wheel, flanked by symbols of wealth and poverty, with a plumb line hanging above to mark equality in death. Later, European painters filled vanitas still lifes with skulls, burned-down candles, and hourglasses, visualising the same idea for new audiences and new theologies.






























































