Vanitas and Vanitas

Politics have been a strong driving force behind many creative works of art. Some artists used art to hide a political message or protest to avoid persecution from the government at the time. Before a time of free speech, some artist would suffer severe consequenses for their opposition to governing bodies of the time.
In the origional Vanitas by Juan de Valdez Leal in 1660, there is a complex message and hidden meanings in the beautiful oil painting. Is is stunning with its colors, lighting technique and presicion making it a lovely piece to admired even if one did not understand the 'hidden message" in it.  Suppose the message we all are thinking were to be true, the painter could deny that message because only the creator truely knows the inspiration for the piece.
The second or later version of Vanitas, the Wheel of fortune (Vanitas) by Audrey Flack is very similar with it's portrayal of a skull, fruit, time piece and other similar items that are more relevant to our modern times. The painting by Flack also uses vibrant colors and awesome use of light to demonstrate a true artistic talent. However, there seems to also be a hidden message in the painting to warn against vanity and the fleeting nature of beauty.
In  Flack's Vanitas, I was able to see the message about vanity being fleeting and death unavoidable more than in the older Juan de Valdez Leal painting. Maybe because the items in the painting are more relevant and decodable to me because they are modern and I am familiar with them? Or perhaps Flack did not have to worry about such backlash and political persecution for her work and therefor did not need to hide the message so deeply.
Regardless of the message, the view who feels they are able to decode the hidden message in the art will most likely enjoy the piece because the feel they are "in on the secret" and were brilliant enough to decode the artwork as well. The artwork being beautiful and demonstrating such rare talent makes these kinds of artwork even more cool.