ann✨ 🏳️‍🌈 she/her

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

OLD COQUETTE | c. 1637 | by BERNARDO STROZZI

The painting shows an old woman, who is probably a courtesan or a mistress— she adorns herself with jewelry and make-up. This is the kind of subject matter that is typical in the vanitas, a genre that portrays the fleetingness of earthly pleasures and the inescapable death.

This composition features a close-up view of the woman's face and upper body as well. It's hard to ignore the emphasis on her ornate jewelry and makeup. Despite her age, she retains a sense of coquettishness, all of which implies a desire to hold onto her youthfulness. 

Symbolism is a key element in this piece, with the woman's aged face and the presence of a mirror serving as reminders of the transience nature of beauty and the inevitability of aging and death.

The contrast between the woman's aged face and the vibrant colors of her attire and her surrounding element emphasize the theme of impermanence,—highlighting hugely the contrast between youth and aging.

Morning Star (Lucifer) - Paul Fryer, 2008 I just recently came across this artwork, "The Morning Star" by Paul Fryer and was immediately brought back to Bloodborne, specifically the "Orphan of Kos". Not simply for their eerie resemblance but also the fact they share intriguing parallels. Paul Fryer's sculpture portrays Lucifer, the fallen angel, in a state of writhing agony, encapsulating a sense of suffering from within its form. Similarly, the "Orphan of Kos" embodies a poignant agony and displacement.

Orphan of Kos - Bloodborne Official Artbook

by Yoneyama Keisuke

by San Goh