Les Catacombes de Paris, 1861

I visited the Catacombs in 2013 (here) and they still look just like this. Amazing.

The Empire of Death, Paris, France

Sous la ville de Paris.
"Arrete! C'est ici l'empire de la mort."

All photos by JEF.

BEAUTY: Painting for Halloween--Michel El Hachem

For Halloween, here are some exquisite skull and skeleton studies by Lebanese artist Michel El Hachem (previously here).

https://www.behance.net/hachemmichel
https://www.facebook.com/MichelHachemArt/

HALLOWEEN BEAUTY: Sculpture--Monika Horčicová

For Halloween, here is the evocative, bone-y sculptural work of Monika Horčicová.

Above: Leg and Hand

Above: Chests

Above: Reliquary

Above: Tripod

Above: Wheel of Life

http://monikahorcicova.wordpress.com/

HEAVENLY BODIES by Paul Koudounaris

For Halloween, nattily-dressed skeletons!

From HEAVENLY BODIES by photographer and ossuary scholar Paul Koudounaris. Thames and Hudson, the book publisher says:
"Death has never looked so beautiful. The fully articulated skeleton of a female saint, dressed in an intricate costume of silk brocade and gold lace, withered fingers glittering with colorful rubies, emeralds, and pearls—this is only one of the specially photographed relics featured in Heavenly Bodies.

In 1578 news came of the discovery in Rome of a labyrinth of underground tombs, which were thought to hold the remains of thousands of early Christian martyrs. Skeletons of these supposed saints were subsequently sent to Catholic churches and religious houses in German-speaking Europe to replace holy relics that had been destroyed in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. The skeletons, known as “the catacomb saints,” were carefully reassembled, richly dressed in fantastic costumes, wigs, crowns, jewels, and armor, and posed in elaborate displays inside churches and shrines as reminders to the faithful of the heavenly treasures that awaited them after death.

Paul Koudounaris gained unprecedented access to religious institutions to reveal these fascinating historical artifacts. Hidden for over a century as Western attitudes toward both the worship of holy relics and death itself changed, some of these ornamented skeletons appear in publication here for the first time."

http://thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/heavenly-bodies-hardcover/

And here is a link to Koudounaris' own site:
http://empiredelamort.com/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Eric Franklin

Glass sculptor Eric Franklin blows glass human skeletons, skeletal structures, and bones in tube forms which are then filled with gases such as neon, argon, or krypton. When the gases are subjected to an electrical current, they emit an eerie glow.

The first three photos show a piece Franklin calls Embodiment. This crowning achievement took over 1,000 hours to create and for the artist, it represents "the mind and body as one entity."


Top to bottom: three views of Embodiment; Amplify; Condense; Dichotomy; Duality; Maintain; Symmetry

http://ericfranklin.com/#home