Death beating a drum above, an owl and a bell attached to a ribbon below, from 'Ornaments or Grotesques' (Ornamenti o Grottesche) 1650 - 1656

Stefano della Bella etched this print, ‘Death beating a drum above, an owl and a bell attached to a ribbon below’, a memento mori, reminding us of our mortality. The skeletal figure of Death, wings unfurled, beats a drum, a symbol of the relentless march of time, echoing in earlier vanitas paintings. Below, the owl, often associated with wisdom, here also embodies darkness and the night, a traditional omen of death. The bell, a common symbol in funerary rites, tolls a lament. We can see a similar sentiment in medieval danse macabre imagery, where Death leads all in a dance, reminding us that none can escape its grasp. These symbols elicit a powerful emotional response, reminding us of the fleeting nature of life. They evoke a sense of melancholy and introspection, prompting us to confront our mortality and the transience of earthly pleasures. The imagery resurfaces in various forms, evolving through the ages, yet always carrying the weight of our shared human experience, reminding us of the cyclical nature of life and death.