Skeleton and Roses, 1998 (Grateful Dead Icon) Detail
Stanley Mouse b. 1940 (American)
Based on Edmund J. Sullivan's 1900 illustration, The Skeleton, in The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam.
Mouse Studios © 2001 Stanley Mouse & Mouse Studios, All rights reserved.

Artist's Statement: "The first time this image hit the scene was on an Avalon Ballroom concert poster in 1967, when the Dead were just another San Francisco rock band. Mouse and Kelley would spend their days in the back rooms of the San Francisco library digging through art books. When Kelley saw Edmund J. Sullivan's illustration of the Skeleton in the Rubaiyat, he said: "This has Grateful Dead all over it." The band related so well to the poster art that they then used it for an album cover, and eventually made it their logo. The Skeleton & Roses is one of the most widely recognized rock icons ever. Mouse enhanced the drawing in 1989 by adding more color which he did again in 1998 to produce this version."

The Interior, The Kostnice, (Chapel)
The Ossuary In Sedlec
Sedlec,Czech Republic
Photo credit ©:
Lubos Stiburek, Ivan Ulrych, Frisco Ramirez
Website of Frisco Arenas Ramirez:
Cyberhell .X.i.b.a.l.b.A.

The Chalice
The Ossuary In Sedlec
Sedlec,Czech Republic
Photo credit ©:
Lubos Stiburek, Ivan Ulrych, Frisco Ramirez
Website of Frisco Arenas Ramirez:
Cyberhell .X.i.b.a.l.b.A.

The town of Sedlec is a suburb of Kutna Hora and is about 800 years old. The story goes: The ossuary began as a monastery in 1142 in what was then Bohemia. An abbot had brought in some earth from Jerusalem and sprinkled it on the monastery's graveyard making it a popular place to be buried, particularly for the many who died of the plague during the Middle Ages. In the 14th century a small chapel was built. In 1870, a Czech woodcarver named, Frantisek Rint decorated the church with the bones from the cemetery to make room for those who wanted to be buried there. The bones of 40,000 people were used to create this fascinating chapel.

Calavera de la Catrina, (not dated)
José Guadalupe Posada
Mexican, 1851-1913
Detail
relief etching print
University of Michigan Museum of Art
1958/1.124

José Guadalupe Posada is synonymous with the lively Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. Posada's posters and political cartoons depicted members of every social class as calaveras (mischievous skeletons). The humor of this device made his scathing political satire more acceptable. TheCatrina is an upper-class lady of the turn-of-the-century always depicted in her broad-brimmed hat. She has become a classic in Mexican folk art.

NO WAR
February 8, 1991
David Lance Goines
American , b. 1945
Saint Hieronymus Press, Inc.
1703 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94709

APPLAUSE IS NOT ENOUGH
June 13, 1994
David Lance Goines
American , b. 1945
Saint Hieronymus Press, Inc.
1703 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
Berkeley, CA 94709

Young Man holding a Skull (Vanitas) 1626-8
Frans Hals, about 1580-1666
Dutch
oil on canvas
92.2 x 80.8
NG6458
© The National Gallery, London

This painting is not a portrait but a Vanitas, acting as a reminder of the transience of life. The Netherlandish tradition of showing young boys holding skulls can be traced back to the early 16th century.

Skull of Zurbarán, 1956
Salvador Dali
oil on canvas
39 1/2 x 39 1/2 inches
HMSG 66.1027
Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Gift of the Joseph H. Hirshorn Foundation, 1966.
Photography by Lee Stalsworth.
© 2002 Salvador Dali, Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Three centuries later, the power of the skulls featured in the work of 17th century Spanish artist Francisco de Zurbarán inspire this painting by the 20th century Spanish surrealist.

Salvador Dali
In Voluptate Mors, 1951
Photograph by Philippe Halsman
© Halsman Estate
fotofolio.com
Postcard

Cow's Skull with Calico Roses, 1932
Georgia O'Keeffe, 1887-1986
Oil on canvas
92.2 x 61.3 cm
E11087 20C
Gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1947.712
Photograph copyright 2002
© The Art Institute of Chicago,
All Rights Reserved

Horse's Skull with Pink Rose, 1931
Georgia O'Keeffe, US, 1887-1986
Oil on Canvas
40 x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm)
AC1994.159.1
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Gift of the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation.
Copyright 2002 Museum Associates/LA.
All Rights Reserved.
Photograph © 2002 Museum Associates/LACMA

Diadem Plaque with a Buddha Surmounting a Skull
17th century, Nepal , Ivory
4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches (11.4 x 5.1 x 1.3 cm)
M.86.61.4
Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
Purchased with funds provided by the estate of
Charles K. Feldman
Copyright 2002 Museum Associates/LA
All Rights Reserved
Photograph © 2002 Museum Associates/LACMA

Mosaic Skull, circa 1400-1521
Mixteca-Puebla
Mexico, Western Oaxaca or Puebla
Human skull with turquoise jadeite and shell overlay
6 1/2 x 6 x 8 in.
(16.51 x 15.24 x 20.32 cm)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
Gift of Constance McCormick Fearing
Photograph © 2002 Museum Associates/LACMA

Elp, 1973
H.R. Giger
Acrylic on Wood
34 x 34 cm
Private collection, Switzerland
Copyright Museum H.R. Giger,
Chateau Saint- Germain, CH-1663 Gruyeres, Switzerland.
Photo © 2000 Wizard andGenius - Ideal Decor AG, 8618 Oetwil AM SEE/Zurich
Printed in Switzerland
AllPosters.com

Deer's Skull with Pedernal, 1936
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986)
Oil on canvas.
36 x 30 1/8 inches (91.4 x 76.5 cm.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MFA 112,
Gift of William H. Lane Foundation, 1990.432.
© 2000 the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation/ARS NY.
Printed in Italy by EGIM Srl-Milano.
Art.com

Georgia O'Keeffe, Ghost Ranch,
New Mexico, August 2, 1968
Detail
Photo by Arnold Newman
Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986.)
Gift of Arnold Newman
© 1992 Arnold Newman, Fotofolio Editions
AllPosters.com

Skull with Hat and Cigarette, 1917
M.C. Escher, 1898-1972 (Dutch)
poster E67
© 1994 M.C. Escher Foundation
Baarn, Holland
All Rights Reserved.
Published by Cordon Art B.V.
Exclusive worldwide representative of the M.C. Escher copyrights
P.O. Box 101, 3740 AC Baarn, Holland

Skull with Burning Cigarette. Winter 1885/1886
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Oil on canvas
Detail
32 x 24.5 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Copyright Vincent Van Gogh Foundation
Printed in the Netherlands
Printmasterinc.com

The Cramps, 2000
Bill Graham Fillmore
Artist: Whit Clifton b. 1948 (American)
Art Direction: Arlene Owseichik b. 1951 (American)
Bill Graham Presents in San Francisco
Printing: Great Impressions,
San Francisco
© 2000 Fizzmore Corp. FY 28

Wolf and Skull
19th century
Japan
Wood with inlays
3 1/8 x 1 3/4 x 1 3/8 inches
(7.9 x 4.4 x 3.4 cm) AC1998.249
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Raymond and Frances Bushell Collection
Copyright 2002 Museum Associates/LA
All Rights Reserved
Photograph © 2002 Museum Associates/LACMA

Henry Moore in his maqette studio with the elephant skull in the background.
"Elephant Skull: Original etchings by Henry Moore"
Gérald Cramer, Geneva 1970
Catalogue of the exhibition;
Dec.1970 - Feb.1971
Galerie Gérald Cramer
13 rue de Chantepoulet, 1201 Geneve, Suisse
Photos by Henry Moore and Errol Jackson
© Galerie Gérald Cramer

"About two years ago, Juliette and Julian Huxley, old friends of Henry Moore, gave him an elephant skull. It was a most welcome gift and he noted with characteristic enthusiasm: "One finds in it all sorts of qualities that bones generally seem to have, including some parts thick and solid and other parts almost paper thin. Nature's sense of strength and structure is one of the marvellous things that you discover in studying such bones." - Alistair Grant, from the foreword of "Elephant Skull: Original etchings by Henry Moore" (Catalogue of the exhibition).

PLATE VIII: Elephant Skull: Original etchings by Henry Moore
Gérald Cramer, Geneva 1970
Catalogue of the exhibition;
Dec.1970 - Feb.1971
Galerie Gérald Cramer
13 rue de Chantepoulet, 1201 Geneve, Suisse
Photos by Henry Moore and Errol Jackson
© Galerie Gérald Cramer

"It became in my mind the arm of a reclining figure" - Henry Moore, "Elephant Skull: Original etchings by Henry Moore" (Catalogue of the exhibition)