Vanitas. Still Life in a Landscape 1660s

Editor: So here we have Matthias Withoos’ “Vanitas. Still Life in a Landscape,” painted in the 1660s. All those skulls give it a somewhat somber feeling, don't you think? What do you make of the objects chosen for this landscape? Curator: Somber is one way to put it! It's like a carefully staged theater of mortality. See the globe, the books, the hourglass? These are all symbols of earthly knowledge and time, but they're juxtaposed with, as you pointed out, skulls and bones. Even that beautiful landscape with a strange monument in the background cannot escape it all. Do you think Withoos is saying anything more with the positioning of all of this? Editor: Perhaps it's about the fleeting nature of life despite our attempts at lasting achievements? Like, we build obelisks, acquire knowledge, but in the end, well...skulls. Curator: Precisely. It's that Baroque preoccupation with *memento mori* – remember you must die! This wasn't meant to be morbid though, oddly enough, but a reflection on the need to spiritually recenter. The vanitas paintings reminds one to reevaluate the truly important things. Do you find that message coming through despite the skulls? Editor: It does, actually. I initially thought of the skulls as purely negative, but placed among objects representing accomplishment, they offer, perhaps, a good perspective. Curator: Good perspective indeed, not everything ends, just because this life does! It is a bit dark still. Even for me! Editor: It certainly brings a different feeling from how I first saw the artwork. Curator: Exactly. These paintings can sometimes teach the keenest lessons on a deeper appreciation of all.