For the Love of God

Common card · No. 237455

For the Love of God is a sculpture by artist Damien Hirst produced in 2007. It consists of a platinum cast of an 18th-century human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead that is known as the Skull Star Diamond. The skull's teeth are real human teeth, then purchased by Hirst in London. The artwork is a memento mori, or reminder of the mortality of the viewer. In 2007, art historian Rudi Fuchs described the work as "out of this world, celestial almost. It proclaims victory over decay. At the same time it represents death as something infinitely more relentless. Compared to the tearful sadness of a vanitas scene, the diamond skull is glory itself." According to BBC, the production cost of “For the Love of God” reached around £14 million, making it one of the most expensive artworks ever created. The work was placed on its inaugural display at the White Cube gallery in London in an exhibition Beyond Belief, with an asking...

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