Jason T Austin.

Recently I’ve been interested in memeno mori. Translating as “remember death”, memento mori were an important part of life to past civilisations and served as a reminder of morality. Often skulls in artwork have served as memento mori.

Due to high morality rates in Victorian times memento mori became popular and the new technology of photography allowed the middle class to afford a keepsake of their recently deceased loved ones.

This painting was modelled from a photograph that I found of a family that had lost their daughter and once again I’ve put animals  in the place of humans.

On a technical note, I wanted the colour in this painting to be vivid. By using acrylics before I started with oils, I was able to make the colour punch out, particularly in regard to the red curtain.