Fire and blood, representations of life. An empty throne, showing destruction and war, but in the chaos, we see liveliness. In the liveliness, we see a display of movement and life. On the bright side, we see beauty and death. On the dark side, we see the night, sinister statues, a dark cathedral and bats, the only life there is.
Bats being the only life in the dead zone is kind of ironic. Bats represent vampires, the undead, the dead, the night, horror. Fire, blood, movements, light and humans represent life. Yet, bats are the only thing that is alive in this painting, and humans are the only thing that is dead. We see the Yin and the Yang in this contrast.
In the dead part, there is light, and in the part that is alive, there is darkness. It's a subtle reversal of the roles. Would you rather be alone in the night with bats, under the moon, next to a scary statue and a gothic cathedral, or would you rather be in the lively slaughterhouse that is that open lobby with a royal shirt and the fiery celebration of killing?
