Eva
Jarošová

How to Be Macabre (Without Being Macabre)

What do you do when you want to evoke the horror of death—but you can’t quite go full skeleton? This talk explores how early modern funerary art in Europe walked a fine line between the terrifying and the tasteful. At its core is the hauntingly fascinating world of transi tombs—those skeleton-filled, rotting-corpse monuments that are equal parts horror show and high art. You’ve probably seen images of them: noblemen carved as decomposing bodies, saints crumbling into bones… But how common were these eerie tombs, and did everyone across Europe embrace this macabre fashion? Join us for a tour through Europe’s necro-aesthetics, with a special stop in the Bohemian heart of the Holy Roman Empire—where even the dead had to navigate politics, faith, and taste.