German school (XX) - Vanitas, memento mori
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€ 101
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Selected by Leo Setz
Over 30 years’ experience as art dealer, appraiser and restorer.
Estimate € 800 - € 1,000
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Vanitas, memento mori, an oil on canvas work from Germany dating to 1920.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
German School of the Early Twentieth Century
“Vanitas, memento mori”
Oil on canvas, early twentieth century 1920/1930 (Germany)
Presentation of the painting:
The painting depicts a skeletal figure partially dressed, captured in a three-quarter pose that consciously recalls the tradition of the classical portrait. The skeleton, wrapped in an intense red drapery, wears a dark headdress adorned with a metallic element and a chain that runs down the side of the face, evoking a vague reference to military or ceremonial forms.
The work sits within the long tradition of vanitas and memento mori, but it does so with an updated language and painterly freedom. Death is not represented as a violent or macabre event, but as a silent and dignified presence, almost ennobled by the posture and clothing. The bone structure, rendered with anatomical care but without boastful realism, emerges from the drapery as a body still “on stage,” suspended between life and dissolution.
The background, dominated by deep greens and barely sketched painterly forms, helps create an ethereal and timeless atmosphere. The brushstrokes appear freer and more material than in previous paintings, suggesting a twentieth-century or late nineteenth-century sensibility, in which the interest is no longer faithful quotation of the past but its symbolic reworking.
The red of the mantle takes on a strongly allusive value: the color of power, blood, and passion, it becomes here the container of a body now devoid of life, reinforcing the contrast between appearance and truth, between outer authority and the inevitability of the end. The figure seems aware of its condition, not a victim but a witness.
Overall, the painting presents itself as a visual meditation on identity, time, and the transience, in which the language of the official portrait is emptied and transformed into an image of disturbing stillness. A work that dialogues as much with Symbolist painting as with the Baroque tradition of memento mori, offering the viewer a silent and deep reflection on the fragility of existence.
Dimensions: 67 x 51 cm
From private collection
Condition: Good, with normal signs of time - restorations present and visible on the reverse
* the frame shown in the photo was used only for demonstration purposes / frame not present
Ideal for collecting and investment
With certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law - Expertise
Professional packaging and insured shipping
Seller's Story
Magnolia Arte is a company that deals with the buying and selling of artworks. Each piece is carefully selected for its artistic quality and emotional impact. In fact, Magnolia Arte believes that every work of art is a piece of cultural history, useful for understanding our present. The economic value and investment are considered secondary aspects compared to artistic and historical-cultural value. Magnolia Arte is a reference point for the auction sale of ancient, modern, and contemporary art. Magnolia is a place of art. Art enthusiasts will find professionalism and expertise here.
Translated by Google TranslateGerman School of the Early Twentieth Century
“Vanitas, memento mori”
Oil on canvas, early twentieth century 1920/1930 (Germany)
Presentation of the painting:
The painting depicts a skeletal figure partially dressed, captured in a three-quarter pose that consciously recalls the tradition of the classical portrait. The skeleton, wrapped in an intense red drapery, wears a dark headdress adorned with a metallic element and a chain that runs down the side of the face, evoking a vague reference to military or ceremonial forms.
The work sits within the long tradition of vanitas and memento mori, but it does so with an updated language and painterly freedom. Death is not represented as a violent or macabre event, but as a silent and dignified presence, almost ennobled by the posture and clothing. The bone structure, rendered with anatomical care but without boastful realism, emerges from the drapery as a body still “on stage,” suspended between life and dissolution.
The background, dominated by deep greens and barely sketched painterly forms, helps create an ethereal and timeless atmosphere. The brushstrokes appear freer and more material than in previous paintings, suggesting a twentieth-century or late nineteenth-century sensibility, in which the interest is no longer faithful quotation of the past but its symbolic reworking.
The red of the mantle takes on a strongly allusive value: the color of power, blood, and passion, it becomes here the container of a body now devoid of life, reinforcing the contrast between appearance and truth, between outer authority and the inevitability of the end. The figure seems aware of its condition, not a victim but a witness.
Overall, the painting presents itself as a visual meditation on identity, time, and the transience, in which the language of the official portrait is emptied and transformed into an image of disturbing stillness. A work that dialogues as much with Symbolist painting as with the Baroque tradition of memento mori, offering the viewer a silent and deep reflection on the fragility of existence.
Dimensions: 67 x 51 cm
From private collection
Condition: Good, with normal signs of time - restorations present and visible on the reverse
* the frame shown in the photo was used only for demonstration purposes / frame not present
Ideal for collecting and investment
With certificate of authenticity in accordance with the law - Expertise
Professional packaging and insured shipping
Seller's Story
Magnolia Arte is a company that deals with the buying and selling of artworks. Each piece is carefully selected for its artistic quality and emotional impact. In fact, Magnolia Arte believes that every work of art is a piece of cultural history, useful for understanding our present. The economic value and investment are considered secondary aspects compared to artistic and historical-cultural value. Magnolia Arte is a reference point for the auction sale of ancient, modern, and contemporary art. Magnolia is a place of art. Art enthusiasts will find professionalism and expertise here.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Artist
German school (XX)
Sold with frame
No
Title of artwork
Vanitas, memento mori
Technique
Oil painting
Signature
Not signed
Country of origin
Germany
Year
1920
Condition
Good condition
Height
67 cm
Width
51 cm
Period
1930-1940
Sold by
