Vanitas with Skull, Veil, and Trumpet

Central Italian
18th century, Oil on panel

Next to the Vanitas with Skull, Candle, Flower, and Inscription, this Vanitas is decidedly undramatic, despite the fact that the skull is presented with the lower jaw intact, foreshortened to simulate the scream of the deceased person who has heard the trumpet of Judgement, depicted immediately above it. The beautiful veil finished with fine lace resting on the skull leads us to believe that it belonged to a woman, whose vanity should have been extinguished by now; the rendering of the bright fabric that contrasts with the singular blue tone of the tablecloth, found in the painting of many masters of northern and central Italy, indicates that the artist came from a renowned school, with a cultured and demanding clientele. The wooden support and the interesting facture of the oil paint increases the work's attractiveness.