Victory over Death is a large photogravure etching produced in 2008 by Damien Hirst. It has hand-coloured details in gouache which makes this a unique piece of art. Printed on Arches wove paper, it is signed in pencil and numbered out of its edition size of 58 on the reverse. 
 
This smiling diamond encrusted skull on a black background is based on the image of Hirst’s ‘For The Love Of God’ sculpture, a platinum cast of a skull encrusted with thousands of diamonds that became the most expensive contemporary artwork in the world.
 
Plate measures 93.3 x 85.5 cm.
Sheet measures 119 x 108 cm.
Framed. Overall frame measures 125 x 114 cm.  
 
Damien Hirst (born 1965) rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s with his striking works of art. He was a key member of the Young British Artists, won the Turner Prize in 1995 and challenges perceptions and the limits of art. Hirst has also challenged the art market; in 2008 he held an auction with Sotheby’s and sold over 200 pieces of his work direct to the public by bypassing galleries, earning £111 million. He explores themes of life, death and religion, and has created thought provoking artworks including various animals in formaldehyde and For The Love Of God, a diamond encrusted human skull with 8,601 diamonds.