Mortal Idol

This painting started with a laurel crown made of gold, displayed at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. It probably was worn by a Roman Emperor with the title of Augustus meaning the elevated or divine one, somewhat less than a god but approaching divinity. It's a step lower than what was bestowed on Egyptian rulers, but I would be plenty happy with it already. Nevertheless, each direct descendant of a God that came to rule and/or convert the Earth, died just the same as all other ordinary creatures, no exceptions. What happened there?
As such, I placed a stylized adaptation of that beautiful and finely crafted laurel crown on a human skull, between the inscriptions God Is Dead, and There Is No God, loosely derived from the traditional British procalamation: The King is dead. Long live the King (which actually originated in France in 1422). The black background and crossed bones can be interpreted as symbolizing the collapse of a rich civilisation, freefalling into the Dark Ages; as a warning of the increasing fragility of our current lifestyles. There you have it.

God Is Dead   mixed media   10" X 8"   Chris De Dier
available from the artist. call for pricing. http://www.chrisdedier.com/