Vier studies van een schedel 1519 - 1566

Daniele da Volterra sketched these four studies of a skull using pen in brown ink, likely sometime in the mid-16th century. Here we find concentrated the vanitas motif. The skull, or *memento mori*, is a stark reminder of mortality and the transience of earthly life. This symbol appears repeatedly through time, from ancient Roman epitaphs to vanitas paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. In each era, the skull carries the weight of human experience, loss, and the inevitable decay of the body. Consider the *Danse Macabre*, where skeletons lead the living to their graves, or the image of Saint Jerome contemplating a skull. These are potent reminders of our shared fate. The skull persists as a symbol, evolving, and resurfacing across different epochs, echoing through time.