Study for The Honeymoon n.d.

Thomas Rowlandson rendered this watercolor entitled "Study for The Honeymoon" in England around the turn of the 19th century. Note the figure of Death looming, and the man drinking a glass. This specter of death, a memento mori, draws on a long tradition reminding us of life's transience. It echoes through medieval morality plays, where Death calls all to account, to the vanitas paintings of the Dutch Golden Age filled with skulls. Here, as in those earlier forms, it serves as a stark reminder of mortality amidst life's pleasures. Look at the glass that the old man holds as Death pours. It is a symbol of fleeting enjoyment. We can find its antecedent in classical antiquity, where wine was linked to Bacchus and earthly ecstasy, but this joy is a momentary, ephemeral sensation, a reminder of the ephemeral nature of youth and beauty. The emotional power lies in this juxtaposition, between the pleasures of life and the inevitability of death. It’s a cycle, a constant dance, and artists throughout time have grappled with this very human paradox.