Hugo Simberg’s The Garden of Death puts a playful spin on the idea of purgatory and the afterlife.
Simberg himself said the garden symbolizes “the place the dead go before they get to heaven”. Each flower, according to the artist, is a human soul, while the skeletons are Death’s assistants.
Check out those big smiles, and notice how the skeleton on the right cradles their flowers with such joy and care. The other two skeletons are carrying out their tasks with just as much devotion.