In Ictu Oculi

In Ictu Oculi, painted by Juan de Valdés Leal in 1671, is one of two works commissioned by the Brotherhood of Charity of Seville for the chapel of its hospital; the other is Finis Gloriae Mundi. It belongs to the vanitas genre, which in seventeenth-century Spain reminded viewers that life is brief and that wealth, power and beauty mean little before death. Its central figure is a skeleton holding a coffin under one arm and a scythe in the other hand, while with the remaining hand it snuffs out a candle bearing the phrase taken from Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians: in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye. Around it gather symbols of contemplative and active life, such as books, ecclesiastical insignia, jewels and armour, all reduced to worthless things in the face of death. The skeleton stands on a globe and gazes at the viewer with an almost ironic grimace. The pyramidal arrangement and strong chiaroscuro, with a dark background and highlights falling on the objects, guide the eye towards the figure and strengthen the moral message.

Painter

Juan de Valdés Leal

Date

1671

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

220 × 216 cm

Museum

Hospital de la Santa Caridad, Seville

Genre

vanitas

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