thinking about this excerpt from giovanni’s room as i lay in bed staring at the ceiling endlessly
God could you imagine how mad geologists must have been to slowly watch the “hey all the continents kinda fit like puzzle pieces :)” guy get proven right
It was a woman that did it!
I love girl talk, especially when it’s complex geological theory

Hugo Simberg, The Garden of Death, 1896.
Every time I see this I always wonder what the painter’s intended message was. It looks so pleasant, that middle skeleton looks so happy with its work.
Maybe it’s supposed to be a memento mori, but a comforting and encouraging one.
This is one of the most famous paintings in Finland. There are multiple interpretations of it but they all share the same base idea:
“According to Simberg, the flowers represent people’s souls, the skeletons are aids to Death, and the Garden of Death is a purgatory of sorts for souls waiting for entrance into heaven. This artwork invites the viewer to consider the afterlife, to take comfort in his or her own passing, and to not fear what happens after the body fails to function.”
“It depicts Simberg’s thoughts on afterlife, which is not run by angels but skeletons who take care of the heavenly garden with a gentle hand, while waiting for more “gardeners” to arrive. It is derived from the medieval belief that the dead sleep in a blooming garden.”
“In Simberg’s garden the humble Death-like figures struggle against harsh conditions; the landscape around the garden has burnt yellow, it is dry and barren. The cherished flowers grow in exotic shapes, slowly, requiring constant care. The black-clad figures love their nurslings. The garden is a place where Death is allowed to realize its feelings of affection. The Garden of Death can be seen depicting the impossibility of this love; maybe the flowers are tender and fragile because they can not handle the love of Death. Love has two faces: one of them is the face of devastation.”
Brigitte Bardot at her family home in Louveciennes, 1952

Ernst Stöhr (1860-1917), “Ver Sacrum”, #12, 1899
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