Death Becomes Her
This Halloween, let’s take a look at sketches of Death
Exigeante (Too Demanding) (detail), 1900-1901, Paul Albert Besnard, Getty Research Institute, 2022.PR.18
Body Content
Every October, content producer Mel Casas takes us on a tour of the darker items in Getty’s collection.
So far, we’ve looked at literal hellmouths, investigated the instructions on golden tickets to the underworld, and wondered if maybe we’ve all been a little hard on Medusa.
This week, we’re looking at a series of prints by a French artist named Albert Besnard, who was both a painter and a printmaker.
L'inconnue (The Unknown Woman), 1900-1901, Paul Albert Besnard, Getty Research Institute, 2022.PR.18
The series of etchings is called Elle, which means “she” in French. In France, Death is female. And, in Elle, you run into her when you least expect it.
Exigeante (Too Demanding), 1900-1901, Paul Albert Besnard. Getty Research Institute, 2022.PR.18
The artist above stares at a blank canvas with his shoulders slumped, lacking inspiration. And there death is, standing behind him, whispering in his ear.
Dans la Foule (In the Crowd), 1900-1901, Paul Albert Besnard, Getty Research Institute, 2022.PR.18
L'accident (The Accident), 1900-1901, Paul Albert Besnard, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, 2022.PR.18
In the first of this pair of prints Dans la Foule (In the Crowd), we just see Death looking really pleased with herself. We don’t know what happened. But there’s a crowd behind her looking at something.
And in the next panel, L’accident (The Accident) we see what the crowd is looking at. And there’s Death again.
Ponctuelle (Punctual), 1900-1901, Paul Albert Besnard, Getty Research Institute, 2022.PR.18
In Ponctuelle, death is strangling the figure lying on the bed while looking at the clock which reads 12:40. There’s a sense of humor about it: the idea that your time comes when it needs to, not a minute earlier or later.
Want to see more? Check out Mel’s Macabre Minute series on Instagram.
