7/1/2023 0 Comments Art memento mori![]() ![]() I recently spoke with Sister Theresa Aletheia about the form’s contemporary resonance. It points toward memento mori’s relationship between recognizing the fact of mortality and inviting us into the process of self-examined living that death discloses. But her second name, Aletheia, means ‘disclosure’ as well as ‘fact’ in Greek. The New York Times, for example, recently profiled author and modern-day maker of memento mori, Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble, as ‘ the Nun Who Wants You to Remember You Will Die.’ It’s true, she does. In recent years, the rediscovery of Catholicism’s traditional forms of art, liturgy, and culture – often in surprising new iterations – has brought about renewed interest in the practice. The form’s secular origins date to the Stoics, but focusing on the ‘Last Things’ has also been a longstanding part of Catholic ascetic practice and devotion. Artistically, death is always a mode of self-portraiture, but memento mori seeks to catalyze the shock of recognition as a means of contemplating a more virtuous life. An inscription over the entrance reminds the living on behalf of the dead that ‘our bones await your bones.’ The chapel’s mirror effect is a core compositional principle in memento mori art. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images) Getty ImagesĪt Portugal’s Capela dos Ossos, Franciscan monks decorated the chapel walls with intricate patterns of 5,000 human bones and skulls. The Capela dos Ossos, where human skulls and bones cover the interior walls, was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk who, in the Counter-Reformation spirit of that era, wanted to prod his fellow brothers into contemplation and transmit the message of life being transitory. of Bones) reads in Portuguese Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos (We bones that are here, await yours) on Septemin Evora, Portugal. More subtly, the presence of a book can represent the vanity of knowledge or, on the contrary, the wisdom of the soul.EVORA, PORTUGAL - SEPTEMBER 30: The famous warning at the entrance of the Capela dos Ossos (Chapel. The butterfly represents the stealthy nature of life, as well as the persistence of the soul beyond death. A fly sitting on food can also make an appearance. Then come all the naturally beautiful but perishable elements, such as wilting flowers or decaying fruit. We also find the candle and its flickering flame, ready to be extinguished at the slightest gust of wind. Less poetic, but more explicit is the metaphor of the clock and its crazy race. In this artistic movement, the allegories are numerous and varied.Īmong the most frequent subjects, the hourglass, symbol of the time which runs out and on without any control. But the skull is not the only representation of our finitude, far from it. A universal symbol, the skull is the most common and explicit image. But what exactly is Memento Mori art? And what different meanings does it take on, depending on the era and the culture? Artsper invites you to discover this fascinating artistic trend, from still life to offbeat portraits! Memento Mori art: symbolizing deathĪ movement impregnated with a great symbolic dimension, Memento Mori art is full of objects that recall or embody death. ![]() It is an art of symbol, which uses many images and metaphors to evoke our inevitable finitude. Memento Mori can be translated as “Remember that you are dying”, reminding us of the fragility of existence. Philippe de Champaigne, Vanitas ou Allegory of human life, 1646 ![]()
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