Skulls in art

Throughout history, images and representations of skulls and skeletons have been seen in art all across the world. In the earlier half of the 20th century, artists used skulls and as a powerful and shocking symbol of death.

It seems that now in contemporary art, skeletons have become “trendy” and their abundance in modern art has led to skulls having less of an impact on the viewer. No longer are skeletons used cautiously and sparingly so as to impact the viewer, but rather now our culture, art and fashion have become so saturated with images of skulls, that they have become commonplace, desensitizing the viewer to the horrific symbolism that skulls once carried. With influences from the Mexican day of the Dead and the rise in popularity of skulls in fashion (Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen), skulls have begun to be portrayed as pleasant, and detached from death.

Damien Hirst’s sculpture, “For the Love of God”, made in 2007, consists of a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds. The sculpture was modelled on an 18th century skull, but the only surviving human part of the original is the teeth, which partly preserves the grotesque element of the piece. ‘I just want to celebrate life by saying to hell with death,’ said Hirst, ‘What better way of saying that than by taking the ultimate symbol of death and covering it in the ultimate symbol of luxury, desire and decadence?’