Guitar with candle and yellow roses

Vanitas paintings were very popular in the 17th century, especially in the Netherlands. Many of the Dutch masterpieces were still life paintings of highly symbolic items meant to remind people of their own mortality and the transitory nature of material items. It seems that the richer people became the more they needed the reminder.

I love symbolism so I find it really interesting to look up these meanings and then play with my own props to recreate that look. In that tradition, here are few of the meanings of the items in this photo:

  • Smoking candle — Shakespeare had it right, “Out, out, brief candle.” The smoldering candle points to the all-too-short time we have.
  • Guitar — Musical instruments can have several meanings but my favorite is artistic inspiration. Hasn’t everyone been inspired by music at some point? (and my husband has a lot of guitars)
  • Books — Books symbolize a conflict between the relative permanence of the written word and the transitory nature of knowledge. And the mortality of the author despite it all…
  • Roses — Roses (and flowers in general) are another item with many different symbolic interpretations. Beauty, the transitory nature of flowers, the vanity of beauty, and so on. In this instance, because they are at full bloom, I was going for the transience of life.
  • Shell — Another symbol with multiple meanings but usual a sign of vanity. The exotic nature of the type of shell (a type not commonly found in Europe) meant that only the wealthy traders and merchants would be able to have such things.

I’d like to put a modern twist on this one day — maybe an old iPod to illustrate the transience of technology. Or how about a broken Kindle to show that even the written word is no longer all that reliable?