Charles Allan Gilbert
American artist
Died when: 55 years 229 days (667 months)Star Sign: Virgo
Charles Allan Gilbert (September 3, 1873 – April 20, 1929), better known as C.Allan Gilbert, was a prominent American illustrator.He is especially remembered for a widely published drawing (a memento mori or vanitas) titled All Is Vanity.
The drawing employs a double image (or visual pun) in which the scene of a woman admiring herself in a mirror, when viewed from a distance, appears to be a human skull.
The title is also a pun, as this type of dressing-table is also known as a vanity.The phrase "All is vanity" comes from Ecclesiastes 1:2 ("Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.") It refers to the vanity and pride of humans.
In art, vanity has long been represented as a woman preoccupied with her beauty.And art that contains a human skull as a focal point is called a memento mori (Latin for "remember death"), a work that reminds people of their mortality.
It is less widely known that Gilbert was an early contributor to animation, and a camouflage artist (or camoufleur) for the U.S.
Shipping Board during World War I.
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