VANITY

2004
Painting by Valery Koroshilov
Oil on canvas, 100 x 100 cm. Private Collection, UK

Traditionally, the skull as an image of vanity juxtaposes the delight in the temporal and fleshly pleasures of life.
I replaced the skull with the clock, as a metaphor of passing time, but its presence in the very centre of the picture is in strong contrast with the deep red velvet, which turns so sharply around and represents life.
The giant white eye of Michelangelo's David set against the red velvet adds an important note to a monumental internal struggle.


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