Type Marble Year 1930 | Created 1930 | |
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Artist Thought to be Jaume Barba, or Joan Fontbernat Similar The Kiss, Angel of Grief, Death and the Sculptor, Le génie du mal, Marble sculpture | ||
New order the kiss of death
The Kiss of Death (El Petó de la Mort in Catalan and El beso de la muerte in Spanish) is a marble sculpture, found in Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona. The sculpture is thought to have been created by Jaume Barba, although others have claimed that its idea was conceived by Joan Fontbernat. The sculpture depicts death, in the form of a winged skeleton, planting a kiss on the forehead of a handsome young man. The sculpture elicits varying responses from the people that view it: is it ecstasy on the face of the young man, or resignation?
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The kiss of death for entrepreneurs
Background
The sculpture is found above the grave of the textile manufacturer Josep Llaudet Soler. and was created in 1930. The tomb underneath contains the inscription:
The sculpture is often said to have inspired The Seventh Seal, by Ingmar Bergman.
Imagery
Rather than depicting death as a winged angel the sculptor instead chose a skeleton. The eroticism of the kiss is hard to escape - the sculpture shows youth welcoming death as a partner. The sculpture is at once romantic and horrifying, which leads to the varying views of the people that view it. It attracts and repels at once, the urge to touch combines with the desire to flee.
