The skeleton or skull, artistically rendered as an icon in Mexican art, especially the folk traditions of the Days of the Dead. Skeletal portrayals figured prominently in the art of Mesoamerica, and Spanish baroque painting often included a skull as a "memento mori" a warning to lead a Christian life, as time was short and death unexpected. These traditions were melded in a bold syncretism perhaps best exemplified in the famous prints of the artist José Guadalupe Posada.