In this painting, the iconography can be drawn chiefly from the title of the work. The title, We Both Must Fade, is a reference to the fact that the woman in the piece is holding a flower and is contemplating the mortality of both herself and the flower she holds in her hand. The flower in her hand is iconographically symbolic of women in general. Women were seen during this time as delicate, pretty, and fragile, like a flower, and often compared to the fact that a flower’s beauty does not last, and is ephemeral at best. Therefore the fact that the flower in the woman’s hand is slightly wilting down is iconographically linked to the future the woman holding the flower will certainly face, an eventual wilting of her youth and beauty. Another iconographic element in this piece is the mirror that she gazes into. This mirror is meant to completely ground the symbolism in the piece, as the woman gazes into the mirror, she is gazing at herself and the flower in her hand. Therefore the mirror acts iconographically not only as a type of vanity, showing the woman looking at her beauty in the mirror, but is almost meant to be the opposite of that, by looking into the mirror with the flower, the woman is now contemplating her own beauty in the context of the knowledge that it will eventually fade. One final iconographical element found in this piece is the box of jewelry on the table beside the woman. These are symbols of her beauty, and perhaps they are symbols of gifts that have been given to her because of her beauty. They are meant to represent that she is beautiful and she knows that she is beautiful, and they are intentionally placed next to the flowers to contrast meaning. The flowers this piece act almost like a momento mori, where iconographically they are most likely an extension of meaning from the flower the woman is holding in her hand, they are meant to show that the beauty found in life will not last.
Women in Art History 