Man maakt vrouw bang door een schedel te laten zien 1827 - 1829

Charles Philipon created this lithograph, "Man makes woman afraid by showing a skull," sometime in the 19th century. At its heart lies a potent symbol, the skull, held aloft in the hand of a man. It startles the woman, whose posture recoils in horror, thus encapsulating a primal confrontation with mortality. The skull, a stark memento mori, reminds us of death's inevitability, a theme recurrent throughout art history. Consider the vanitas paintings of the Dutch Golden Age, or even Holbein's "The Ambassadors," where a distorted skull stretches across the canvas, a hidden reminder of our fate. Here, the man's gesture echoes the classical hero holding aloft the head of a vanquished foe, yet it carries a new emotional charge. It speaks to the subconscious anxieties surrounding life, death, and our fragile existence. This simple image resonates with a fear that transcends time and culture.