found this quote. its exactly what my degree show is about! (although i was planning on having four portraits and four skull paintings, as we are given enough room for this number)…
‘The legend of the three living and the three dead most probably comes from France. The oldest manuscripts go back to the 13th century: they contain poems of Baudoin de Condé, of Nicolas de Margival and of two unknown writers. The plot of "the legend" is rather simple: three corpses (representing ecclesiastics) meet with three living (a duke, a count, and a prince). The latter are terrified by this encounter. The dead speak to the three rich men, urging them to repent: "Such as I was you are, and such as I am you will be. Wealth, honor and power are of no value at the hour of your death.". ‘
