Human Skulls Gottfried Libalt

This pyramidal stack of human skulls is an extreme example of a vanitas still life. The painting warns the viewer of transience, the inevitability of death, with its message of “memento mori” (remember that you must die). This work clearly shows Libalt’s characteristically melancholic, meditative atmosphere, his monochrome palette, and his impasto brushwork. The painter’s extraordinary technical skill is evident in the way he captured the nine skulls, all seen from a different perspective, and in his choice of raw, naturalistic depiction to accentuate the shocking effect of the spectacle.