Life, it has often been said, is art. Yet for those who dedicate their lives towards both the abstract concepts and deep concealments that dominate the artistic landscape, the spectre of death is often far more pertinent and reflective in their works than the naturally dwindling energy of the mortal coil. Death is a reliable constant in a world of chaos and when one who makes a living projecting emotional conflicts in to the physical world (for that is surely what an artist does), it is only natural that when the shadow of death draws near your work begins to reflect as such.
So let’s take a look at the final works of famous artistic figures from throughout history and reflect (as they must have either knowingly or unknowingly done so) upon the final brush stroke in the tapestry of their lives work:
Caravaggio (1571-1610) – The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (1610)
Pieter Bruegel The Elder (1525-1569) – Storm At Sea, unfinished (1569)
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) – The Gardener Vallier (1906)
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) – The Swallow’s Tail (1983)
Francis Bacon (1909-1992) – Study of a Bull (1991)
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) – Vida La Vida, Watermelons (1954)
Georgia O’Keefe (1887-1986) – The Beyond, last unassisted work (1972)
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) – The Bride (1918)
Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) – Christ Carrying The Cross (1500-1510c)
Jean-Michel Basquait (1988) – Riding with Death (1988)
Rene Magritte (1898-1967) – The Empire of the Lights, unfinished (1967)
Edouard Manet (1832-1883) – A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882)
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) – Étant donnés (1966)
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) – La Gerbe (1953)
Claude Monet (1840-1926) – Water Lilies Mural (1926)
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) – Self-Portrait Facing Death (1972)
Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) – Red Black and Silver (1956)
Raphael (1483-1520) – The Transfiguration (1520)
Rembrandt (1606-1669) – Simeon With The Christ Child In The Temple, unfinished (1669)
Mark Rothko (1903-1970) – Untitled (1970)
Titian (1490-1567) – Pieta (1567)
Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) – Tree Roots (1890)
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) – Last Supper (1986)
