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La Calavera de la Catrina
Artist / Origin: José Guadalupe Posada (Mexican, 1852–1913)
Region: Mesoamerica, Central America, and the Caribbean
Date: 1913
Period: 1900 CE – 2010 CE
Material: Zinc etching
Medium: Prints, Drawings, and Photography
Dimensions: H: 12 in. (30.5 cm.), W: 16 in. (40.7 cm.)
Location: Private Collection
Credit: Courtesy of Giraudon/ Bridgeman Art Library
My Love Sings When the Flower is Near (The Philosopher and the Woman)
Region: Europe
Date: 2007
Period: 1900 CE – 2010 CE
Material: Embroidery on silk shantung stretched over linen with crystals
Medium: Textiles and Fiber Arts
Dimensions: H: 155 in. (393.7 cm.), W: 90.2 in. (229.1 cm.)
Location: Galerie Lelong, New York, NY
Credit: © Galerie Lelong and the artist
The ubiquitous skulls and skeletons that appear in art across time and place are, more often than not, symbols of decay, disease, and corruption, warnings of danger, or prognostications of death’s ultimate victory over the flesh. However, in more recent times especially, as the arsenal of weapons against death has become stronger and lifespans have lengthened, some artists have found occasion to bring out a lighter side in these traditional symbols of mortality.