Vanitas

Vanitas (Latin for 'vanity', in this context meaning pointlessness, or futility, not to be confused with the other definition of vanity) is a genre of memento mori symbolizing the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death, and thus the vanity of ambition and all worldly desires.

It was a sub-genre of painting heavily employed by Dutch painters during the Baroque period (c.1585–1730).

[3] Memento mori is a similar theme which when translated from Latin means, "remember that you will die.

The paintings often have symbolic imagery which attempts to convey the message that all people die, encouraging the viewer to think about the futility of our earthly pursuits.

[4] It was popular to include skulls in vanitas paintings as a symbol of the ephemeral nature of life.