Vanitas bust of a lady with a crown of flowers on a ledge, by Ykens (1688)

Vanitas bust of a lady with a crown of flowers on a ledge, by Ykens (1688)

This vanitas plays with the confusion of naturalia and artificialia, deconstructing the markers of femininity alluded to the image. This is a fragment of an elegant woman presented as an object, a bizarre statue that emphasizes her breasts, which serves as the feet or stand of the statue. Her fleshed neck and breast contrast with her head, a darkened skull. The whiteness of her teeth reflects the whiteness of the pearls in her necklace, a typical example of naturalia artificialia. The vegetable decorations of her earrings and broaches, possibly made from precious stones, attract a bird that takes them for natural fruits. The rose, a symbol of beauty and fragility, has survived the general decay thanks to its artificial nature, as well as the elegant wig, which is not her true hair. Death has rendered this beautiful woman bust into an artificial decorative object, questioning the reality of her markers of beauty and feminine attractiveness while alive.

Ykens, Catharina (1659- c. 1737)

Private collection.
Wikimedia commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catarina_Ykens_II_-_Vanitas_bust_of_a_lady_with_a_crown_of_flowers_on_a_ledge.jpg

Archived in:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200707012646/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Catarina_Ykens_II_-_Vanitas_bust_of_a_lady_with_a_crown_of_flowers_on_a_ledge.jpg

Auctioned at Sotheby's:
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.115.html/2017/old-masters-day-sale-l17034

1688

Oil on panel.
Dimensions: 21 × 21 cm