'Vanitas Still Life with Bouquet and Skull' by Adriaen van Utrecht, exact date unknown. This is my final post before our new social media officer Kim takes over! I have chosen a painting in the 'Vanitas' still life genre, which was very popular in the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly in Flanders and the Netherlands. Vanitas means 'emptiness' in Latin - the objects gathered in the painting are supposed to represent the worthless nature of earthly pursuits, in line with Christian views of life on Earth. A skull was often used to represent the certainty of death. Speaking of death, the deadline for our call for papers on time and temporality in the Renaissance has been extended to September 22nd, please see link in bio for more details. Thanks for following our account, it's been a pleasure! 🎨💀🌷 #art #art🎨 #artwork #painting #arthistory #renaissance #renaissanceart #earlymodern #dutchart #vanitas #stilllife