Necessity and choice in the context of Vanitas in the Baroque culture

Abstract

Ecclesiastes, written c. 450-200 BC by the name of Kohelet proclaims 'Vanity of vanities!' and questions the meaningful existential stance of man. Although such a pessimistic attitude is quite exceptional in the Holy Bible it periodically appears in the Western culture in different contexts. The Baroque culture is one of them. At the end of the 16th c. and the beginning of the 18th c. Vanitas category emerged articulating skepticism towards order, social hierarchy, and economic or intellectual property. In this article, the Vanitas category in Baroque culture is analyzed on several levels. Firstly, the continuities and the differences, comparing Vanitas in the Baroque period and in Biblical times. The second part of the study is dedicated to specific Vanitas figures, i.e. the gambler and the playing child. The specifics of how these figures are presented are explored, as well as the ways in which they implement or suggest measures for overcoming vanity.