Motifs in Design

The group has been considering incorporating motifs to represent death in a subtle way in the furniture of the study for Ivan Ilyich.  I found an excellent source of inspiration for the different ways this could be done in the book Baroque: Style in the age of magnificence (2009) Edited by Michael Snodin and Nigel Llewellyn, Published by V & A Publishing, London


The following images are all from this book:

 This mask from the fountain garden screen at Hampton Court, Jean Tijou. 1690 would look just as well as the back of a sofa or top of a chair.

The title of this painting is A Cabinet of Curiosities by Georg Hinz, Germany, 1666

It is a wonderful depiction of a collection of curiosities and might provide inspiration for either the bookshelf in the study or the cabinet in the drawing room.

Death depicted on a church floor in marble, infact death was a popular depiction to remind the faithful of the need for piety.

Floor relief Cornaro Chapel, Gianlorenzo Bernini, marble. Rome 1647-51

Time and Death is made of wax.  Its main focus is on the corruption of the flesh.  Its origins are not certain but possibly by Gaetano Zumbo or Zummo (1656-1701)

Very macabre and fitting for our story.

This picture shows a casket and a stand.  The stand shows bacchanalian heads and vine work design on the legs.  This could be easily incorporated into the occasional tables for the drawing room and study.

Stand attributed to William Vile, London, 1752