Anatomical paintings on vanity and fading beauty

Kim sez, "The sequence of paintings by a Spanish artist called Fernando Vicente is called Vanitas, meditations on the fading of beauty and the inevitability of death, basically."

Fernando Vicente: Vanitas

Fernando Vicente (Thanks, Kim!)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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apoxia

I agree with Mermaid – these paintings are all the more beautiful for their incorporation or our intricate construction. So much more interesting than smooth skin.
Anonymous

This is an extremely beautiful painitng, and I have chosen this for my ART home learning. (HOMEWORK)
I have chosen this because of it’s ELEGANT yet SUTTLE beauty. AND, also, the way that this womnly charecter is holding her neck; NOT FORGETTING the other half of her. Her brain!
Halloween Jack

Reminds me of Phoebe Gloeckner.
Javier Candeira

It’s “Fernando Vicente“, not “Vincente”. This is not just nitpicking: you are getting the googlejuice all wrong by mispelling his name.

There-fixed-it-for-you-aside, he used to work at the Madrid Comics bookstore, and he was one of the artists for our first run of postcards. He was awesome then, and he has only gotten beter since.
Anonymous

as a woman i find the whole “fading beauty” thing harsh–its geared towards women like this painting is–another poke in a way and not one that really is that supportive.
any way vicente could paint some men too? or does he assume that there is no need for them to be reminded of their brain stem?
Anonymous

Actually, if you’d go to the link and LOOK at the paintings, there in fact IS one of a man in the collection. It’s second to last picture at the link.
Anonymous

I’d disagree with fading beauty, whether it was his true intention or not. I believe it is implying that true beauty lies within what we are comprised of, that we love people for what lies ‘on the inside’ rather than beauty on the outside. Although I don’t totally understand what’s going on here, to me it reflects the beauty of the biology of humans, & I am looking everywhere to see if there are prints for this!
bjacques

Appropriately Ballardian.
mermaid

Fading beauty? Anatomy is cool! It makes me more vain to know that’s what I look like.