Juan de Valdés Leal was a Catholic,
a devout believer in the four
last things: Death, Judgement,
Heaven and Hell, as illustrated
by his paintings, the postrimerías.
Acutely aware of the brevity of life,
and that Man’s faith and works
would be weighed in the balance
to determine whether he entered
Heaven or was condemned to Hell,
he also adhered to the idea that
Ars longa compensated for Vita Brevis,
so, his canvas entitled In ictu oculi
shows a skeletal, hollow-eyed Death
standing on the right gazing at us.
The fingers of its right hand
are touching the adage In ictu oculi
to snuff out the flame of life.
A coffin is tucked under its left arm,
while its left hand clutches a scythe
that has raked over the baubles
of earthly glory: a tiara, a crown,
books of science, rich vestments,
the accoutrements of high office.
Death’s sinister foot presses on a globe:
mortality is the great leveller.
Life is over in the blink of an eye,
but the art of Valdés Leal lives on.
Saragun Springs 
Tony
Congratulations on your site debut. I know little about art, but this poem creates a visual that is clearly understood. Know little Latin, but enough to know it when I see it. Easy enough to look up, yet even in ignorance it decorates the poem.
Well done.
Leila
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I found this poem to be highly intriguing!
Great descriptions and images.
A powerful statement, “Ars longa, Vita Brevis.”
This is so true about the arts and the durability of a human life.
Just as an example: E.A.Poe’s, “The Tell Tale Heart” still thumps from the breezeway of his life.
“news that stays news,” Ezra Pound.
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A fine ekphrastic poem.
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Tony
The structure of this poem is extremely strong. The intro where the poet talks about the painter, then the turn into the quotation and the painting, then the turning of Death into a truly vivid character based on the painting, drawn from the painting, through the painting, taken from the painting, growing out of the painting: all of the above make for an extremely strong poem for anyone contemplating art, life, or any mixture of those two. Bravo! Looking forward to the others in the series appearing soon, as well. Your poems have sensibility; your words are truly interacting with the visual art in an original way, not just mirroring it.
Dale
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