It is classified as a literary genre and a form of macabre art. Some variations include food and drink, others incoporate time-pieces. One South American country celebrates its association with a festa, while it also was once sported by Mary Stuart. What is it, what movie title took its name from it, and can you provide a painting portraying a certain late, medieval allegory associated with it?

lanfranco

You're referring to the "memento mori" ("remember death") a concept that has given its name to a variety of art. In painting, a memento mori (sometimes called a "Vanitas") will often include hourglasses or skulls or even rotting fruit and dying flowers. Older allegories focus heavily on the skull and skeleton theme, and Mary of Scotland did have a watch shaped like a skull. Mexico famously celebrates its "Day of the Dead" with memento mori themes, such as candy shaped like skulls, and meditations on death represent the memento mori literary genre. The film "Memento" was based on a story called "Memento Mori." This site offers some useful illustrations, including Memling's "Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memento_mori May 31 06, 8:21 AM

peasypod

Yes indeedy Ma'am, and the picture I was after was a form of the 'danse macabre', mainly 'The Triumph of Death' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triumph_of_Death May 31 06, 7:50 PM

lanfranco

Breughel the Elder (1525-69) lived a little too late to be called a "late medieval" artist, even in the context of northern European painting. The most famous late medieval painting illustrating this concept is "The Triumph of Death" in Pisa, once thought to have been completed not long after the onset of the Black Death in Europe and attributed to Francesco Traini (fl. 1321-1365) but now given by many to the little-known Buonamico Buffalmacco (d. 1336?) This afternoon, I ran into the interesting "memento mori" mosaic from the Tannery in Pompeii and featuring a skull and a wheel -- probably based on the ancient "Wheel of Fortune" concept. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an illustration online, but if you're visiting Naples, you can see it in the Archaeological Museum. May 31 06, 8:20 PM

peasypod

Sounds good, must look it up next time I'm there. Speaking of, have you ever been to the Archealogical Museum of Locri? May 31 06, 8:37 PM

lanfranco

I've seen the archaeological sites in Locri, but that was so long ago (late 80's) that I can't even remember whether I visited the museum. Probably, but those Greco-Roman collections in southern Italy and on Sicily are so constantly being augmented by new excavations and opinions that I'm not certain what's what any longer. Morgantina, for example, is driving us all insane .... Jun 01 06, 7:49 PM

Create a Free FunTrivia ID to add to, request more/new answers, or edit this entry

This once-controversial painting, by an artist who courted controversy throughout his career, is thought by many to have a title well-suited to its subject. Rejected by squeamish jurors as an exhibition entry, it was eventually sold for only $200 to an appropriate academic institution. Today, it is considered one of the great works of American art. What is it, and can you provide an illustration? Though it was a mere blip on the artistic landscape until the middle of the last century, this painting is, today, regarded as a cultural icon in its country of origin. Depicting a certain gentleman engaged in a enjoyable sport, it was long thought to have been painted by one of the most famed artists of the country in question. Recently, that attribution has been doubted. What is it, who are the two artists associated with it, and can you provide an illustration? It is said that in the 18th century, two well-known artists engaged in a dispute over whether it was possible to produce a successful painting that employed a certain color as its dominant chromatic theme. One of the painters set out to prove that it was, and the result hangs in an American museum. Who were the artists, what is the painting, and can you provide an illustration of it? Which company once adopted its trademark from a painting and subsequently changed its name to that of the paintings title?

1 Can You Name the Disney Movie by its Song? All classic Disney films have an award winning song. However, can you guess what movie it is by song? I will give you a line from a song and you tell me what movie it's from. Kids and Animated Mixture Average 10 Q disney_king_08 Nov 08 07 8358 plays 2 Can You Name the Disney Movie By its Song 2 Do you think you are ready for the sequel to the ever-so-popular "Can You Name the Disney Movie by its Song"? I'll give you a set of lyrics and you tell me what movie it's from. Good luck! Kids and Animated Mixture Average 10 Q disney_king_08 Mar 22 08 2403 plays 3 Medieval Magic and Its Origins We all like the power to control nature. We call it science now, but before our modern times it was called Magus or maleficium. Superstitions, Magic and Phobias Impossible 10 Q thejazzkickazz Jun 23 02 3723 plays