THE SECRET PATH

kara timmons

The following pieces of morbid art are by Nicola Samori, a 35 year old Italian artist. He says “My work stems from fear: fear of the body, of death, of men. I think my nature as an artist is something like feeling hopeless. Works are just temporary shelters and painting is a leisure place where you can conceal yourself.”

Skeleton Praying (c. 1600s) Skeleton Pleading (c. 1600s) Marble floor of the Cornaro Chapel

Seen on the MET museum online collection

kara timmons

Another one of Dead’s drawings

Stańczyk (c. 1480–1560) was the most famous court jester in Polish history. He was employed by three Polish kings: Alexander, Sigismund the Old and Sigismund Augustus. Scarcity of sources gave rise to four distinct hypotheses in 19th century: that he was entirely invented by Jan Kochanowski and his colleagues, or that he was “perhaps a typical jester dressed by his contemporaries in an Aesopian attire, perhaps a Shakespearean vision of 19th century writers, or perhaps indeed a grey eminence of the societatis ioculatorum”. In any measure, common consensus among modern scholars is that such a person indeed existed and even if it did not, it had a tremendous importance to Polish culture of later centuries.

embroidered Roundel with flowers and birds

Andreas Bloch

The Golden Key - John Bauer