Memento Mori

A long inscription at the foot of this tempera on board tells us the meaning which imbues this painting, a ghastly image carrying a positive message: figurative painting, though given up for dead many times, always comes back to life. Maurizio Bottoni's hyperrealist still lives are as technically sharp as they are poetically poignant, and the name of Albrecht Dürer has often been brought up in relation to them. Dürer's craft is in fact echoed by Bottoni's meticulous attention to the natural details in depicting pieces of turf, herbs, flowers or animals, and this Memento Mori is a testament to his pictorial creed.