These also belong to the repertoire of vanitas, many being the works of Nicola Bolla, a singular artist from Turin, author of handmade sculptures studded with Swarovski crystals, in which the said crystals are applied one by one.
An ophthalmologist, he divides his time between the Savoy clinic, the laboratory and art galleries, where more and more frequently he shows his bizarre creations by uniting the works in crystals also with pieces made of playing cards. Among his favourite subjects are full-size skulls and skeletons, studded with crystals. Irreverent, he also created a papal effigy complete with a machine gun on a toboggan. The sense of his hyper-realistic art, which demands skill and manual patience, is the deliberate contrast between the sparkling materials, those truly in fashion, and the subjects chosen which belong to the dark imagination. Nicola, a composed doctor, is an exemplary witness of how the creative imagination knows no boundaries, even in the choice of the materials to be moulded.