So, medieval folk have a great tradition of death, from the magnificent Hell Mouths of the mystery plays, to the ghoulish danse macabre and the carpe diem lyric tradition (Dead Poets' focused on the gathering-ye-rosebuds rather than the decomposing aspect); they like to keep the notion of physical decay & the afterlife close. And while immersed in medieval things, I gazed at Bosch's 'Death and the Miser' for some time.
Fantastic painting; for me, the creepiest part is that oh-so-curious demon peering down from over his bed (you can click to enlarge).
In other news, I had a delightful lunch out (testing out purveyors of scrumptious smoothies); now it's back to death for me :-)
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Blurb on 'Death and the Miser' from ibiblio.org:
The naked and dying man has been a man of power: at the bed's foot, but sundered now by a low wall, lies his armour. His riches have come through combat; the sick man has fought for his wealth and stored it close to him. He appears twice, the second time in full health, soberly dressed because he hoards his gold, dense with satisfaction as he adds another coin. Demons lurk all around, death puts a leering head around the door (notice the sick man's surprise: death is never expected), and the final battle begins. It is one he must wage without his armour. Behind him, even now proffering gold, lurks a demon. Above the bed, expectant and interested, peers yet another demon. The outcome of the story is left undecided. We hope desperately that the miser will relinquish empty possessiveness and accept the truth of death.
2 comments:
....scary!
Yep. And isn't it great!
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