Art in grave tone, or the theme of passing and death in painting | lecture

How did the great masters of painting paint the end of life? Does death in paintings have to be dark? How was the thought of the inevitable end of our existence tamed? This fall, we invite you to a slightly darker version of art history. During the November lecture we will look at how the great masters portrayed the end of life and tried to tame the thought of the inevitable.

Looking for an idea for an autumn evening? We have something for you: cushions, art and a subject that can draw in. No scrolling, no notifications, no pressure to do something. You can just sit back and listen and discover a few things that you haven't had the opportunity to think about before. Such a small trip to the darker side of painting — relaxing, a little unobvious and perhaps surprisingly pleasant.

Death is an inherent part of life and one of the greatest mysteries of human existence. For some it represented the end of earthly life, for others the moment of transition to another reality or incarnation. Through art, philosophy and literature, it was tried to be tamed and understood, although it always aroused feelings of fear or terror, and sometimes fascination.

We invite you to a lecture during which we will discover how the attitude towards death has changed over the ages — from horror and moralizing, through romantic melancholy and avant-garde anxiety, to contemporary, multidimensional realizations, ranging from the vision of memento mori or the visualization of the gloomy reaper or Thanatos portrayed as a kind of femme fatale.

We will examine the medieval danse macabre, telling of the omnipotent death governing the metaphysical kingdom of the anonymous dead, and the expressive images of Christ on the cross, emphasizing the value of painful sacrifice.

We will analyze baroque still lifes called vanitas, somewhat macabre because their inherent element is the human skull, an obvious symbol of the passing of life, honor and wealth. In the works of Romanticism, the cult of death is revealed to us as an act of freedom and rebellion, growing out of a fascination with the afterlife and spirits, from the treatment of death (also suicidal) as an escape from suffering and its heroic version — the sacrifice of one's life for one's country. We will also see moving visions of 19th and 20th century artists, symbolists and decadents, full of emotions and deep meanings. Among them will also appear images of cemeteries, sometimes deserted, sometimes filled with mourners during funeral rites or asphyxiations. This theme was used by artists to address themes of passing, but also memory, melancholy and spirituality.

Kamila Śpiewla-Kasperek, artist, art history teacher, animator will tell us about how painters documented the departure, giving it a profound meaning — from metaphysical anxiety to political manifesto to intimate beauty — and turned the last into immortal art.

When: November 19, 2026, 17.00-18.00

Where: Culture Workshops, 5a Grodzka Street, performance hall, 2nd floor

For whom: adults who are interested in art

Free admission