The Three Skulls 1902 - 1906

Editor: Here we have Cézanne's "The Three Skulls," a watercolor painting created sometime between 1902 and 1906. It's interesting, the juxtaposition of such a morbid subject with the delicate medium and floral backdrop creates an odd tension... What symbolic weight do you think these images carry? Curator: Indeed. Skulls, of course, have been employed for centuries as a 'memento mori'—a reminder of mortality, urging us to consider the fleeting nature of existence. But Cézanne doesn't simply present them as stark symbols of death. Consider the backdrop. Is it floral, suggesting life and renewal? Or is it shroud-like, draping the skulls? What of the skulls themselves - stacked in such a manner? What comes to mind? Editor: Hmm... I see them as having a social relationship, a silent conversation, almost like characters. And that makes me think about the self. Maybe they represent different facets of one person, confronting their own mortality. Curator: A compelling thought. Could it also suggest a lineage? Three generations, perhaps, facing a shared fate? Cézanne painted several still lifes of skulls, particularly later in life. Do you feel the presence of mortality intensified for him during this stage of his career, and thus compelled him to confront that through the potent and lasting symbols that carry immense, multi-layered weight and depth? Editor: That makes sense. Perhaps these skulls were a way for Cézanne to grapple with his own aging and mortality, using art as a means of understanding the universal human experience of death. Thank you, I've learned so much! Curator: My pleasure. It is the image which truly teaches; with what clarity it speaks to us, about the temporal, the corporeal and, the transcendent!