Dapple Grey
Tartan of the Day
Jul 11
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Skeleton Day
"🎶 Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones!"
October 12th is Skeleton Day—a date tied to the twelve pairs of ribs, twelve months, twelve zodiac signs, and twelve hours of day and night. Like the final floating ribs, it drifts at the edge of the year’s cycle, a skeletal reminder of time, fate, and mortality.
The impending arrival of Hallowe’en brings not only a chill in the air but also chilling tales of the supernatural. Among the most enduring symbols of mortality are animated skeletons—figures that have haunted the Western imagination since the Middle Ages. Their role as personifications of death may well have been inspired by biblical imagery, such as the valley of dry bones in the Book of Ezekiel, where life is breathed back into scattered bones.
Perhaps the most iconic skeletal figure is the Grim Reaper. Cloaked in a hood, scythe in hand, and sometimes bearing an hourglass, this image was shaped in part by the powerful woodcuts of Hans Holbein the Younger in 1538. In biblical lore, Death also rides with even greater company—as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, often portrayed as a skeleton on a pale horse, heralding both mortality and judgment.
Skeletons appear not only in scripture and art, but in folklore too. In the Brothers Grimm tale The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was, the hapless boy Hans joins a ghastly circle of dancing skeletons, each bone rattling with otherworldly mirth.
Echoing these themes, the tartan’s design—with its central spine and flanking ribbed lines—suggests the structural image of the skeleton itself: stark, animated, and charged with with the key to knowledge beyond our understanding. 🖤 💜 🤍 💜 🖤 💀 🦴 🦴 🦴
Memento mori, a Latin phrase meaning "remember that you must die," has been a recurring theme in art for centuries, used to remind viewers of life's impermanence and the inevitability of death. The concept, rooted in ancient Roman and Christian traditions, gained prominence during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance when it was incorporated into religious art, especially in Christian iconography. Memento mori was intended to inspire humility and reflection, encouraging the viewer to focus on spiritual life and prepare for the afterlife rather than becoming absorbed by material pleasures.
One of the most common visual elements in memento mori is the skull, a stark symbol of death. Paintings often featured skulls prominently, along with other objects associated with the passage of time, such as hourglasses, clocks, and wilting flowers. In vanitas still-life paintings, popular in the Dutch Golden Age, these items were paired with luxurious objects like jewels, books, and fine food to contrast the fleeting nature of wealth and beauty with the certainty of death. The juxtaposition in these works highlights the transitory nature of earthly achievements and pleasures.
Memento mori art also took the form of more subtle symbols embedded within larger works. For example, Holbein’s The Ambassadors (1533) includes a distorted skull, only visible when viewed from a particular angle, serving as a hidden reminder of mortality amidst a scene of grandeur and scholarship. This motif continued into modern times, influencing surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí, whose works often explored themes of decay and time. Today, the memento mori tradition persists, offering viewers a timeless message: to live with the awareness of death as a way to fully embrace the present.
For more skeletons found in Scotland's National Galleries, click the skeleton!