The Last Drop (The Gay Cavalier)
Two rowdy revelers are caught in a moment of extreme overindulgence, with one chugging from a jug while his companion in bright red smokes a long pipe, completely oblivious to the skeleton standing right between them. This grinning skeleton holds an hourglass and a skull, serving as a grim memento mori to remind the drinkers that time is running out. Painted during the Dutch Golden Age by Judith Leyster, one of the few recognized female masters of her time, this moralizing scene warns against the fleeting pleasures of alcohol and tobacco.
Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art
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