As learned observers know, flies serve an important symbolic role in Western art.
“In the Dutch Vanitas tradition, flies symbolize the fleeting nature of time and the speed with which death arrives,” according to the authoritative Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in Art. European art often depicts flies perched on human skulls as a memento mori, or reminder that our death looms just around the corner.
“The fly was a symbol of bringers of disease, and … of Beelzebub,” the encyclopedia stated. ‘Beelzebub’ is a Hebrew rendering of the name ‘Baal-Zebub,’ meaning “lord [Author’s Note: or lady] of the flies.”
The encyclopedia added that “[i]n Christian art, flies symbolize evil, pestilence, and sin.”
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