In Ictu Oculi
by Juan de Valdés Leal, 1672
Artwork Details
Details
- Year
- 1672
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 220 cm × 216 cm
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Juan de Valdés Leal painted this Baroque allegory of death in 1672 for the Hospital de la Caridad in Seville. The title comes from Corinthians 15:52: "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." Death, as a skeleton, extinguishes a candle while treading on a globe. Symbols of worldly power, crowns, tiaras, books, weapons, lie scattered beneath.
The painting forms a pair with Finis Gloriae Mundi, which shows rotting corpses in a crypt. Both are memento mori, reminders of mortality that Valdés Leal called "hieroglyphs of our afterlife." He founded the Seville Academy of Art with his friend Murillo, though their styles differed dramatically, Murillo's serene, Valdés Leal's somber and theatrical. The work measures 216 x 220 cm, oil on canvas, and remains at its original location in the Hospital de la Caridad, Seville.
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About In Ictu Oculi
The Latin phrase means 'in the blink of an eye,' from Corinthians 15:52. Death can extinguish life instantly, a theme Valdés Leal visualized with a skeleton snuffing a candle.
The painting remains at its original location in the Hospital de la Caridad, Seville. Its companion piece, Finis Gloriae Mundi, hangs nearby.
Death stands on a globe and extinguishes a candle. Below lie crowns, papal tiaras, books, and weapons, representing earthly power rendered meaningless by mortality.
The Brotherhood of Charity commissioned both paintings for their hospital. Valdés Leal called them 'hieroglyphs of our afterlife,' intended to remind viewers of death's universality.
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