My new mini-assignment for this module is related Still Life in Nature Morte and Vanitas. At first hearing of this subject I was clueless, but after a seminar and insight into what it is and would involve, it became a lot more clear. Vanitas and Nature Morte were used in historical still life paintings of a group of objects that all generally represent something. In the past the objects were commonly flowers, food, books, instruments, insects or dead animals, which are all connected to life in some way. The french term for still life is nature morte meaning dead nature, after learning this it shows what the painting's mean a bit more clear to see. In almost all the paintings we were shown in the seminar, the light source always comes from an area on the left, sometimes lighting up the main object then slowly becomes darker to the other not so meaningful objects, it is important to notice this because it plays with flatness and almost give a 3D illusion in a number of paintings. In all of the paintings we looked at all had diagonals and vertical lines that lead to the main objects, where ever the came from in an area of the painting, highlighting what the viewer should be looking at the most. Another fact of the painting's that occurred in every single piece, was that they all contained objects that represented wealth and power, along with the colours in the paintings were used such as bright red, purples and greens all relating back to wealth also.

Taken from http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-jansz.-treck-vanitas-still-life and shown in seminar.

This painting was by Treck in 1648, and is called "Vanitas Still Life". It contains objects that Treck used wanting to cause the viewer to reflect on mortality and human ambition. It is clear the see the diagonals in this painting, the white stick is pointing to the knights armour which then lead to the flute that is pointing to the skull, that makes it clear to see that the painting is Vanitas because it includes a skull.