Vanitas,N. L. Peschier
1661c. The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Visit this painting in Gallery 364

Life is short, pleasure is fleeting, death is certain. Dark? Maybe. But for 17th-century Dutch artists, vanitas still-lifes were a way to honor the dead and humble the living. In Peschier’s Vanitas, a skull, memento mori, sits among symbols of life’s excess: a jug for indulgence, a flute for lust, gold for greed. Memento mori means “remember you must die.” So yes, time is ticking. Drink up while you can.

Learn more about the hidden symbols in Vanitas paintings here.