SI VIS BENE MORI DISCE BENE VIVERE

Print description

I came across this Latin maxim, accompanied by a skull carved in marble, on a tombstone laid on the floor of an ancient church belonging to the Convento de San José del Carmen in Seville.

“If you wish to die well, learn to live well.”

This quote reflects the classical and Renaissance philosophy of ars moriendi, the art of dying. It suggests that a peaceful, honourable and fearless death is not a matter of chance, but the consequence of a life spent practising virtue, mindfulness and wisdom.

It expands on the better-known concepts of memento mori (remember that you are mortal) and memento vivere (remember to live), linking the way we face death to the way we choose to live.

Inspired by its Sevillian origins, I created a shroud of bougainvillea flowers, bringing life to this timeless meditation on mortality..

Print details

To create this print, I begin by making individual drawings in ink, which I then bring together to form the final composition. I scan these original drawings and digitally add colour. The finished design exists solely in digital form and is printed using archival inks on fine art paper. I release the design as a limited-edition print, available in standard ‘A’ sizes, ranging from A0 (84.1 × 118.9 cm) to A4 (21 × 29.7 cm).