Sun 18 Nov 2007 11:35AM - 12:00PM Artwork from the DeviantART portfolio of ~captainslug

The first episode of this triptych is entitled Judgment and takes a look at the moment just after death when the unfortunate one meets Death and faces the music. Subsequent programmes focus on Heaven and Hell, and all three concentrate on the relationship between art and death.Stemming from early Egyptian artists who produced the Book of Death, the subject has fascinated artists for millennia. An earlier ArtsWom article has explored the obsession that artists have with the skull and images of the skull, but these shows follow the journey that death takes via art throughout the ages. Many, many artists have depicted death in their art, and there are discussions of the subject on sites like this and this.

The programme contends that the depiction of death in art has been an instrument to maintain the status quo in society – that the threat of death forces the people to toe the line for fear of incurring the wrath of the hooded one. The show takes in the entire spectrum of art from the earliest days, right through Michelangelo up to modern times with the work of Mark Wallinger (who is said to be influenced by the macabre thoughts of William Blake). If you have any thoughts on the depiction of death in art, feel free to discuss them with others on the SkyArts site.