Joel Peter Witkin: Corpus Medius

In this image Witkin objectifies death.  Direclty out on a table for us to see and relate to- the lower half of an average adult male.  Clearly about death and the brutality and gore associated with it.  However something about the lighting, the cloth and composition seems classical or related to the renaissance.  This to me makes me reflect on past life and how artists devoted their lives to studying the not always complete figure in the renaissance and other movements proir to and after.