C'est une tête de mort 1888

Odilon Redon created this lithograph, “C'est une tête de mort,” presenting us with a skull crowned with roses emerging from darkness. Skulls, long associated with mortality, serve as 'memento mori,' urging contemplation of life's brevity. Here, the presence of roses introduces complexity. Traditionally, roses symbolize love, beauty, and sometimes, secrecy. In antiquity, they adorned tombs, signifying remembrance. In Redon's print, the roses atop the skull might represent beauty defying decay or life intertwined with death, reflecting a cyclical view of existence. Consider how vanitas paintings of the 17th century employed skulls amidst luxurious objects to remind viewers of life's transience. Redon, in this context, might be engaging with those historical meditations while infusing his work with Symbolist sensibilities. This echoes a recurring theme: the enduring human confrontation with mortality, a motif that continually resurfaces throughout art history.