Portret van Jakusics György 1648

This engraving, made by Elias Widemann in 1648, depicts György Jakusics within a decorative frame filled with symbolic meaning. Surrounding Jakusics is an inscription, which speaks to the eternal struggle between life and death, "NIL VICINI, QUAM MORS VITA." The Latin inscription is a classical memento mori motif, reminiscent of ancient Roman funerary art, where skulls and inscriptions served to remind viewers of their own mortality. This motif resurfaces throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods, often in portraiture and vanitas paintings. The inscription can be interpreted as an emblem of both existential anxiety and a call to virtue, urging the viewer to contemplate the fleeting nature of life. The image is a perpetual return of ancient wisdom, adapted to fit new cultural and psychological landscapes, underscoring our shared human experience across time.