Attributed To Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627) – Memento Mori – Vanity, Early 17th Century

Attributed to Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627) – Memento Mori – Vanity, early 17th century

Description

An exceptional and striking Vanitas, depicting a decomposing male head resting on a book of hours, a symbol of meditation and prayer.

The work is part of a famous series associated with Jacopo Ligozzi, a leading artist at the Medici court in Florence and a key figure in the emergence of the Italian still life at the turn of the 17th century.

At the bottom of the composition, a cartellino bears the Latin inscription: “QUÆ PRIUS ANIMA MEA TANGERE NOLEBAT / NUNC CIBI MEI SUNT,” taken from the Book of Job, 6:7, which can be translated as:
“What my soul once would not even touch is now my food.” ”

Far from being a mere macabre depiction, the work constitutes a true meditation on death and salvation.
The decomposed head evokes the inevitable decay of the body, while the book of hours refers to prayer and the transition from earthly life to eternal life.

The presence of a fly perched on the deceased’s forehead—a particularly striking detail—reinforces the naturalistic character of the depiction and its dimension as a memento mori. Associated with the decay of the flesh and decomposition, it serves as a powerful reminder of the fragility and transience of earthly existence.

Several versions of this composition have been documented.
Most of them derive from a prototype by Jacopo Ligozzi belonging to Lord Aberconway’s collection in Bodnant, Wales, published by Luigi Salerno and later featured in the exhibition catalog Jacopo Ligozzi, pittore universalissimo held in Florence in 2014.
The two macabre still lifes in the Aberconway collection are dated 1604 and are emblematic works of this phase in Ligozzi’s career.

Several earlier versions of this composition have been documented. They are linked to a prototype by Jacopo Ligozzi, dated 1604 and held in the Lord Aberconway collection at Bodnant (Wales). This major composition within Ligozzi’s macabre iconography is documented in the literature devoted to the artist.

This work was examined and appraised by the Cabinet Turquin, Paris, and attributed to Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627).

Presented in a substantial frame with wavy moldings, particularly suited to the power of this composition.

The canvas exhibits a network of crackle and visible signs of age, bearing witness to its history. Its condition is accurately depicted in the photographs.

Expert appraisal: Cabinet Turquin, Paris.
Attribution: Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627).
Memento Mori
Oil on canvas: 30.5 × 25.5 cm

Reference Bibliography

L. Salerno, La natura morta italiana, Rome, Ugo Bozzi Editore, 1984, fig. 9.2, p. 30; Jacopo Ligozzi, pittore universalissimo, exhibition catalog, Florence, 2014, notably fig. 78, p. 218.