Memento Mori, a Latin phrase meaning “Remember that you must die,” dates back to antiquity. According to legend, upon the victory of a Roman general on the battlefield, a slave reminded him of the human condition by whispering memento mori in his ear. This phrase took on a moral dimension, developing above all with Christianity. In the Christian faith, one must forfeit earthly pleasures in order to pass through heaven’s gates.
Our Memento Mori engraving reinterprets the tradition behind this maxim which has permeated centuries of European art and thought. We conceived of this image as a form inspiring a state of introspection, leading to the contemplation of our limitations; of our mortality.
