Vanitas in White 

Here is a still life painting, "Vanitas in White," by the contemporary American artist Scott Fraser. Fraser engages with the artistic tradition of "vanitas," a genre which flourished in the Netherlands during the 16th and 17th centuries. Vanitas paintings use symbolic objects to remind us of our mortality and the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures. Fraser updates these themes for our times. His still life features objects such as a deer figurine, a metronome, eggs and candles, all rendered in hyperrealistic detail. The monochromatic palette gives the composition a ghostly, ethereal quality. The whiteness may allude to the historical absence of women and people of color in the canon of Western art. The artist stated, “I like that painting can stop time. I am trying to record time, which I feel is only possible in painting.” Through his artistic skill, Fraser prompts us to reflect on our own existence and the legacy we leave behind.