Looking at Memento Mori

Memento mori, Latin for “Remember that you must die,” is a genre that draws upon the melancholic character of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes. Eat, drink, and be merry if you must, the objects suggest, because death is right around the corner. 

The point of this reminder isn’t to be morbid or promote fear, but to inspire, motivate and clarify. The idea has been central to art, philosophy, literature, architecture, and more throughout history. As Socrates says in Plato’s Phaedo, “The one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death.”

Memento mori paintings, drawings, and sculptures can range from blunt depictions of skulls, decaying food, and broken objects to subtler examples whose symbolism is easy to miss. Artists as varied as Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, and Damien Hirst have worked in the genre. These objects had their heyday in the 16th century, when they found an eager audience among wealthy European collectors.

In recent years, fascination with the genre has resurfaced, both within the museum and outside it. Images of death are everywhere, “from the fashions of Alexander McQueen, to mock skeletons on suburban lawns at Halloween, to the special ossi di morti biscuits sold in Italian bakeries,” notes Barbara Boehm, senior curator at the Cloisters, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s medieval branch, in Upper Manhattan. “There are even skull emojis! But the ubiquity of such imagery can dilute its impact.”

Richard Avedon: In Memory of the Late Mr. and Mrs. Comfort 1995

The New Yorker devoted a large portion of their magazine to Avedon’s work. It was a timeless fable involving two characters, Mr. & Mrs. Comfort, and their tumultuous love affair. Many believed that this reflected Avedon’s disillusionment with contemporary fashion, reducing it to a dance with death. Beautifully staged and emotionally charged, the photo essay will live on as one of greatest of all time.