Comparision of: Still life with Skull, Jan Gossaert and Violin and Candlestick, Georges Braque



Georges Braque
Violin and Candlestick, 1910
Oil painted on canvas, 61x50cm
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA



• This artwork reflects the theme of 'Cubism'
• The artwork is based on a grid framework and the painter covered the boundaries of the black outlined objects using earth toned colours
• The effect of Cubism transforms the dimension of the art work making it look three dimensions
• Cubism allows the audience to see the objects from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the painting in greater context
• The shattering look gives the audience a complexity of emotions

Jan Gossaert
Carondelet Diptych (outside), 1517
Still Life with Skull
Oil on wood, 43x27cm
Louvre, Paris

• This artwork projects the theme of Vanitas or Momento Mori, meaning remember your mortality
• The skull in the painting reflects the idea of death and is a typical symbol and reminder of death
• Painted on the reverse left side of the Carondelet Diptych, a diptych is a painting on two hinged wooden panels that are closed like a book
• The script above the skull is written in Latin that translates to "he who thinks always of death can easily scorn all things"
• The word MATURA is chiseled into the bottom of the artwork, the word mature comes from the work MATURA, this suggests the full physical development.