"Love and Death (Amore e Morte) - Chick and the Dead
▻https://www.facebook.com/chickandthedead/posts/love-and-death-amore-e-morte-is-a-piece-by-italian-painter-and-poet-calcedonio-r/952045774950719
“Love and Death (Amore e Morte)” is a piece by Italian painter and poet Calcedonio Reina, 1842-1911. This painting of a couple in an amorous clinch was completed - according to Wikipedia - in 1881. I love it because the clinch is taking place in the very renowned Capuchin Catacombs, or Catacombe dei Cappuccini, in Palermo, Sicily. These catacombs are famous for incredibly preserved monks as well as the beautiful little girl, Rosario Lombardi, who has featured on this account before. Like many repositories for human remains which have now become tourist attractions as well as incredible records of material culture, this one originated when the graveyard for the monastery ran out of space, forcing other options for the deceased to be applied. Although originally just for friars, it became a status symbol to be entombed in these caves and really the donations from the wealthy dead were what kept the catacombs in service. You can see from the 1881 painting that not much has changed in terms of display of remains. But why did Reina paint a different type of display? A PDA? It’s because death and love have long been considered two sides of the same coin: Eros & Thanatos; Libido & Mortido; the orgasm & ’le petite mort’. It’s the topic of my dissertation and - who knows - maybe eventually a book?