The Self-Portrait with Vanitas Symbols by David Bailly - Essay Example

As much space is given to the objects as the subject of the painting, which is, ostensibly, the young man sitting beside the table. The interesting thing to note is that the young man (the painter himself) is not the only person in this ‘self-portrait’; he is holding a miniature painting in his hand with the depiction of a much older person in it. So, can this really be called a self-portrait?             It would be implausible to consider that the objects in the painting exist in isolation.

These symbols of ‘vanitas’ have been selected to illustrate a uniform theme of the “swift passage of time and the terrible instability of life” (Duffy, 2012) in the painting. A style of painting popular in the 16th and 17th century, vanitas paintings were also known by another name of ‘memento mori' (remember death). All the symbols in the painting are objects in a transient state of life, all of them together acting as a metaphor for life itself which is always in a state of motion bound towards a certain end.

Lighted up candles eventually lose their flame; flowers wilt, soap bubbles can be broken even by a speck of dust. The skull, the pearls, and coins represent the changing nature of life and wealth and prestige respectively. These can be lost due to a number of circumstances and within the blink of an eye. Nothing is permanent, especially the movement of time which is aptly embodied here by the hourglass.             This idea about the temporary state of bringing us back to the subject of the painting.

The young man is the artist himself but a cursory check lets the viewer know that that this, not the artist as he was at the time the painting was made. Bailly painted the portrait when he was 67 years old, indicating that while the young man is how the artist used to be some years prior, the ‘real’ portrait is the miniature the man is holding (Kosara, 2007). That painting within the painting shows Bailly in the state he was at the time. The contrast between young and old is striking and this contrast not only magnifies the theme intended for the painting but adds another layer of meaning and possible interpretation to the whole setting.

            The young man looks contemplative; possibly, the painting in his hand was made to portray his own vision about his future self. His older self is decaying, without the energy and drive of youth and this natural, inevitable process of change is not something that any man looks forward to with pleasure. Surrounded by symbols of vanitas, his imagination would be further encouraged to think in terms of the transiency of life and all things associated with it.

It is a sobering thought. And yet it can be hard for the human psyche to adequately grasp the implications of this as relating to self. The young man is in contemplation but not in throes of despair.               Thinking of the perspective of the painter at the age of 67, however, we can decipher the painting in a different light. Though everything in the painting shows the passing of time and the changes that are brought with it, the subtle indication is that there is one thing that is unaffected by this natural process- the soul of the artist.

The artist’s body might be aged now and his physical appearance has changed but his perception of himself is still that of a young man. Time has not affected the vitality of his thoughts or the strength of his passions- in nature, he is the same the young man at his peak and will remain so till the very end of his life. After all, even as the body decays the mind remains unmarked for a much longer time. Our own perception of self can be much more important than what the world sees and this importance is shown through the prominent presence of the younger self over the older (real) self.

This is the artist’s true self-portrait if time had not impacted his life so.