Sleeping putto over a skull - Italy, 19th century

terracotta, with traces of gilding on the skull.
The contrast between the figure of the putto and that of the skull highlights the passing of time and the precariousness of existence, giving image to one of the most widespread iconographies in the vanitas.
The work picks up on the stylistic features of the Roman Baroque, finding comparison in the marble group depicting St. Nicholas of Tolentino with the Virgin and Child, St. Augustine and St. Monica, located in the Church of St. Nicholas of Tolentino in Rome, or in the oil painting on canvas by Giulio Carpioni (Venice 1613 - Vicenza 1678) 'Dormant Putto above a Skull'.
A vanitas is a symbolic work of art showing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. The skull was the symbol of death from the 1500s onwards; previously death was represented as a skeleton. Skulls were very popular in the Baroque period and were not only an essential part of any Wonderland Room (Wunderkammer), but also acted as contemplative reminders of mortality.
Height x width x depth 15 x 26 x 15.5 cm.
Item condition grading: **** good.