Jan Rudolf Bys (1660 - 1738) Memento Mori

The painting is a typical demonstration of the Baroque preoccupation with the theme of death: memento mori, keep death in mind. The iconography alludes to the ephemeral nature of human life and property, which is demonstrated in the left section of the painting by the brightly lit architecture; it also alludes to mortality, symbolized by the skull, withering flowers, wheatgrass and other attributes. However, there is also a depiction of a hopeful moment of resurrection, an open grave, which is located in the right section of the painting. Oil on canvas. Restored. Report of restoration by Jana and Tomáš Záhoř; Color analysis by Dorothea Pechová.