Royal Scottish Academy
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • RSA200
    • Celebrating Together
    • Partners
    • A Blueprint for Belonging
    • Moving Image Programme
    • Support our bicentenery
  • What's on
    • Current Exhibitions
    • Upcoming Exhibitions
    • Events
    • Past Exhibitions
  • About
    • Academicians
    • History
    • Governance
    • RSA Foundation
    • RSA Team
    • Work with us
    • Accessibility
    • Contact
  • Collect
    • Academicians' Gallery
    • Collections Management
    • Art Rental
    • Artwork Commissions
    • Shop Publications
  • Support
    • RSA Friends
    • RSA Patrons
    • Legacies and Bequests
    • Corporate Partners
  • Opportunities
    • Exhibition Open Calls
    • Student Awards
    • Residencies
  • Our Collections
    • About RSA Collections
    • Explore our collections
    • Picture Library
    • Bookshelf
    • Research & Contact
  • Discover
    • News
    • Stories
    • Watch
Cart
0 items £
Checkout

Item added to cart

View cart & checkout
Continue shopping
Menu
  • Menu
  • Donate
Ian Howard RSA
1952-2024

Ian Howard RSA 1952-2024

  • Overview
  • Works
  • Exhibitions
  • Publications
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Ian Howard RSA, Vanitas II

Ian Howard RSA 1952-2024

Vanitas II
Mixed media on canvas
200 x 230 cm
View on a Wall
This work is an unframed canvas which can be hung directly on the wall. A Vanitas is a still-life painting that contains memento mori, objects and symbols selected to make...
Read more
This work is an unframed canvas which can be hung directly on the wall.

A Vanitas is a still-life painting that contains memento mori, objects and symbols selected to make the viewer to reflect on their own mortality. In this painting the human skull, the tulip’s decay, the religious penitent’s hood, the hunter’s trophy all illustrate the passing of time and the inevitable approach of death. The glass domes through their transparency and shine simultaneously animate and distance the scenes within; parallel worlds frozen in space and time.
Close full details
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Related artworks
  • Ian Howard RSA, Dr. Paracelsus, 2020
    Ian Howard RSA
    Dr. Paracelsus, 2020
    Lithograph and mixed media on paper
    107 x 76 cm
  • Ian Howard RSA, Day and Night, 2019
    Ian Howard RSA
    Day and Night, 2019
    Mixed media on wood
    30 x 40 cm
  • Ian Howard RSA, Study for Amphiteatrum
    Ian Howard RSA
    Study for Amphiteatrum
    Mixed media on board
    30 x 21 cm
  • Ian Howard RSA, Giordano Bruno, 2020
    Ian Howard RSA
    Giordano Bruno, 2020
    Lithograph and mixed media on paper
    107 x 76 cm

Sign up to our newsletter

Sign up

* denotes required fields

We will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy (available on request). You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.

The Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture, The Mound, Edinburgh,  EH2 2EL

Contact     Privacy Policy     Terms of Use

Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Send an email
View on Google Maps
Manage cookies
Copyright © Royal Scottish Academy 2026
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Reject non essential
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences