This early oil on oak panel depicting a gentleman in a black costume with a white collar and matching wrist cuffs, sits within a genre known as memento mori. In medieval times the theory and practise of reflecting on the transient nature of earthly life was known as the “memento mori”, a Latin phrase which translates as ‘remember, you must die’ and has been illustrated in numerous works of art. While the expression may sound sombre, the point of Memento Mori is to serve as a reminder of our mortality so as to make the most out of life - memento mori works carry optimistic, carpe-diem messages. The genre was popular in the 16th century and there was an eager audience among wealthy European collectors for them. In recent years, skull art is a popular aesthetic niche and the fascination with the genre has resurfaced, both within museums and outside, for example in the fashions of Alexander McQueen. They can be exquisite works of art that speak powerfully about the transitory nature o...