Konec Všech Věcí 1887

Maximilian Pirner made this oil painting, titled Konec Všech Věcí, using traditional fine art methods. The way Pirner layered paint allows us to see the different ways of painting skin, fabrics, and the sky. This speaks to the long hours he likely spent layering each figure on the canvas, and using his skilled hand to make the artwork photorealistic. The artist employs soft brushstrokes, and subtle graduations of color to create a sense of depth and atmospheric perspective. Pirner expertly uses color and composition to create a melancholic atmosphere. The pale color scheme and stark imagery of death are offset by the beautiful rendering of the human figures. The painting engages with a history of allegorical imagery and symbolism, reflecting on the transience of life and the inevitability of death. By examining the artist’s hand and the way they manipulated the materials, we get a richer and more complete sense of the artwork’s meaning. This challenges the traditional art-historical perspective, which focused solely on the symbolic meaning of the artwork, and instead, focuses on the means of its production.