Chaque pouce d'une dame, 1975

Bernie Wrightson

The Last Judgment (detail) by Giovanni Canavesio (1450-1500) at Our Lady of the Fountains [Notre-Dame des Fontaines].

The Judde Memorial, c. 1560, British School. "This double portrait of William Judde (c. 1513–91) and his wife Joan (née Williams; born c. 1532) commemorates the occasion of their marriage. Though the moment is a celebratory one, the setting is somewhat macabre and devoutly sombre, with a skull taking centre stage. In fact, this painting is a striking example of a memento mori, an artistic reminder of the transience of life and the inevitability of death. The maxim written across the painting’s lower edge – ‘Lyve to dye and dye to Lyve eternally’ (‘Live to die and die to live eternally’) – the blossoming flowers, flickering candle and withering corpse, combine to become a meditation on the fleeting nature of earthly existence and the promise of a future in heaven." (Dulwich Picture Gallery).

Ascension of the soul

by Abbott Handerson Thayer

Santiago Caruso

Abigail Larson

Arkhip Kuindzhi

Kostya Lupanov (Russian, b. 1977)

Three, 2019

oil on canvas