This drawing has four of the standard elements of a 17th century vanitas image: skull, book, mirror and hint of a plant. All are symbols of the passage of time and the futility of holding on to anything. Hence, the category “vanitas.” “Vanitas” is a genre that the Dutch painters of the 17th century often worked with. More on that in the next post.
As I looked at this drawing on my screen, I felt conflicted between looking at the skull as the major element and at the mirror image as the focal point. The skull won. But the skull is not as interesting as the mirror image, is it. So I flipped the image in Photoshop.
Ta-tah! Here the skull is still the most poignant element in the drawing—it’s the strongest and most complete symbol of mortality. But look what happens to the circular mirror with the partial profile of the skull.
Here the compositional lines lead UP to the circle. The circle holding the skull reflection now has an upbeat, optimistic feeling. This goes against the vanitas theme, which is supposed to be a warning against pride. Forget pride and preaching. This drawing, seen in the flip version (flip!), is ironic and witty.
We’ve seen in previous posts how flipping an image will change how it feels. Same information, very different feeling. But this vanitas drawing, flipped, is uncanny.
Drawing by Jeanne Müller, graphite, ~16”x20,”
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artamaze by Katherine Hilden 