Vanitas is a genre of 17th-century Dutch still-life painting that dwells on the certainty of death and the ultimately empty nature of material possessions. The first photograph is a still life influenced by the Dutch tradition with the lush peonies surrounded by evidence of death and decay at the base of the vase. The second image symbolizes the insignificance of possessions in the final reckoning. The third image is a mixed media work considering original sin and the inevitability of death.
