Memento Mori

Filed under: Posted in Article of the Day, Trivia | by Article of the Day
In an iconic scene from Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the titular prince contemplates the skull of the former court jester Yorick, juxtaposing his jocular existence and his death. The skull is an example of a memento mori—an object intended to remind people of the inevitability of death. Derived from a Latin phrase meaning "be mindful of dying," the term has a tradition in art that dates back to antiquity. What famous paintings feature a memento mori?

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