Day 13

Hello all! So for today's drawing I did an ink illustration of some corpses and chrysanthemums. The corpses are inspired by the Cappuccini Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily. I found out about this spooky place after doing research for a college illustration project and it's stuck in my mind ever since. It's the only place I've seen that displays the bodies of people on their walls, on hooks, and in glass coffins. I heard it was considered an honor to have your body rest here but it never fails to make me feel uneasy. I personally feel like the remains of the dead need to be treated with a certain level of care and respect and while the customs here are accepted, I still feel uneasy about it all. But I think that's part of why it has stuck with me. Aside from this place giving me feelings of unease, I still respect it as the bodies of the dead were cared for and even preserved very carefully, including ritual visits from family members and even changing the clothing of the dead to be more presentable. Aside from Egyptian pharaohs I haven't heard of anyone taking so much care with the dead in contemporary times.

I also added chrysanthemums as they are a customary funeral flower in Italy (and must not be used for anything other than funerals).

Be sure to check out El Goro's latest podcast review for "31 Days of Halloween" with the movie "House."