German school (XX) - Vanitas, memento mori
09
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21
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Selected by Caterina Maffeis
Master in early Renaissance Italian painting with internship at Sotheby’s and 15 years' experience.
Estimate € 800 - € 1,000
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Vanitas, memento mori, oil on canvas, Germany, 1920, period 1930–1940.
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 partially dressed skeletal figure, captured in a three-quarter pose that consciously echoes the tradition of the classical portrait. The skeleton, wrapped in a deep red drape, wears a dark headdress adorned with a metallic element and a chain that runs down along the side of the face, evoking a vague reference to military or ceremonial forms.
The work belongs to 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 attire. The bone structure, rendered with anatomical care but without a fetishistic realism, emerges from the drapery as a body still “on stage,” suspended between life and dissolution.
The background, dominated by deep greens and faintly sketched painterly forms, helps create an atmosphere of timbre and timelessness. The brushstrokes appear freer and more tactile than in previous paintings, suggesting a twentieth-century or late nineteenth-century sensibility, in which the interest is no longer the faithful quotation of the past but its symbolic reworking.
The red of the cloak takes on a strongly allusive value: the color of power, blood, and passion, becomes here the enclosing wrapper of a body now devoid of life, strengthening the contrast between appearance and truth, between external authority and the inevitability of the end. The figure seems aware of its condition, not a victim but a witness.
Overall, the painting is configured as a visual meditation on identity, time, and the transience of existence, in which the language of the official portrait is emptied and transformed into an image of eerie immobility. A work that dialogues as much with Symbolist painting as with the Baroque tradition of memento mori, offering the viewer a silent and profound reflection on the fragility of existence.
Dimensions: 67 x 51 cm
From private collection
Condition: Good, with normal signs of aging - restorations present and visible on the back
* the frame shown in the photo was used for demonstration purposes only / frame not present
Ideal for collecting and investment
With a legally compliant certificate of authenticity - Expertise
Professional packing 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 partially dressed skeletal figure, captured in a three-quarter pose that consciously echoes the tradition of the classical portrait. The skeleton, wrapped in a deep red drape, wears a dark headdress adorned with a metallic element and a chain that runs down along the side of the face, evoking a vague reference to military or ceremonial forms.
The work belongs to 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 attire. The bone structure, rendered with anatomical care but without a fetishistic realism, emerges from the drapery as a body still “on stage,” suspended between life and dissolution.
The background, dominated by deep greens and faintly sketched painterly forms, helps create an atmosphere of timbre and timelessness. The brushstrokes appear freer and more tactile than in previous paintings, suggesting a twentieth-century or late nineteenth-century sensibility, in which the interest is no longer the faithful quotation of the past but its symbolic reworking.
The red of the cloak takes on a strongly allusive value: the color of power, blood, and passion, becomes here the enclosing wrapper of a body now devoid of life, strengthening the contrast between appearance and truth, between external authority and the inevitability of the end. The figure seems aware of its condition, not a victim but a witness.
Overall, the painting is configured as a visual meditation on identity, time, and the transience of existence, in which the language of the official portrait is emptied and transformed into an image of eerie immobility. A work that dialogues as much with Symbolist painting as with the Baroque tradition of memento mori, offering the viewer a silent and profound reflection on the fragility of existence.
Dimensions: 67 x 51 cm
From private collection
Condition: Good, with normal signs of aging - restorations present and visible on the back
* the frame shown in the photo was used for demonstration purposes only / frame not present
Ideal for collecting and investment
With a legally compliant certificate of authenticity - Expertise
Professional packing 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
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