Life c. 19th century

Timothy Cole’s print, simply titled "Life", presents us with potent symbols of human existence. Here, the weeping figure, reminiscent of ancient depictions of grief, cowers on the ground, while an ethereal angel holding what appears to be a covered urn stands amidst shadowy figures. Consider the angel, a motif stretching back millennia, a symbol of divine intervention and guidance across cultures from ancient Mesopotamia to Christian Europe. The urn she bears recalls the vessels of ancient Greece, holding the ashes of the deceased. This symbol suggests not merely an end, but a transition, a passing from one state to another, echoing the cyclical nature of life. This echoes in Renaissance art, where the figure of melancholia, often depicted with similar posture, contemplates the futility of earthly pursuits in the face of time. Here, this posture of despair seems linked to that ancient understanding of fate. Such gestures burrow into our collective memory, resurfacing to shape how we confront mortality and grapple with loss.