Title: Der Tod von Basel : acht Holzschnitte von Rudolf Schiestl zu dem alten Volksliede [LINK]
Author: Rudolf Schiestl, 1924
Title: Ein moderner Totentanz : dreiundzwanzig Blätter aus dem Bilderbuch des Todes [LINK]
Author: Tobias Weiss, 1913
Title: La Danse des Morts à Bâle [LINK]
Illustrator: (after) Hans Holbein, 1846
Title: The dance of death on the Muhlenbruke at Lucerne [LINK]
Author: Caspar Meglinger, 1893
Title: Ein Totentanz [LINK]
Authors: Walter Draesner & Max von Boehn, 1922
Title: Bilder des Todes oder Todtentanz für alle Stände [LINK]
Illustrator / Author: Johann Gottfried Flegel / Carl Merkel, 1850
Title: Auch ein Todtentanz [LINK]
Author: Alfred Rethel & Robert Reinick, 1902
Title: Daud un Düwel [LINK]
Author / Illustrator: Karl Wagenfeld / August Heumann, 1919
Title: Schau-Platz des Todes oder Todten-Tanz in Kupffern und Versen vorgestellet [LINK]
Author: Salomon van Rusting, 1736
The Heinrich Hein University of Düsseldorf recently uploaded the Graphiksammlung „Mensch und Tod“ (Danse Macabre Collection). There are more than ninety books available, many of them from the later (lesser known) Totentanz / Death's Dance period. The complete books are available for all but one or two of the entries.
Previous related entries (the first 3 in particular have a lot of background and links about the Death's Dance genre):
Heidelberger Totentanz ::: Death's Dance ::: Totentanz Blockbook ::: Ars Moriendi ::: Los Calaveras de Posada ::: The Day of The Dead - Papercuts ::: The Antikamnia Chemical Company ::: Speculum Musico-Mortuale.
UPDATE: See the Wurzeltod post: A Mid-November's Dance of Death in which the inimitable Suzanne puts some personal flesh on the bones of 'Bilder des Todes oder Todtentanz für alle Stände' by Carl Merkel & Johann Gottfried Flegel.
What a great dancer he is.
ReplyDeleteAnother great dance macabre is here:
http://fantastic.library.cornell.edu/bookrecord.php?record=F071
The gentleman picture of him in the end is the hit!
Love this, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletemade this a couple years back:
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/12882206
The last image, title "Schau-Platz des Todes..." was totally used in the movie "Madagascar".
ReplyDeleteOther than that, this is a spine chilling collection.
Todentanz's association with the Black Death seems to be overlooked.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that it killed about half of Europeans had much to do with this morbid obsession.
David, do you mean overlooked within this post here?? At the bottom you'll see I've left a whole bunch of links as I've covered this territory in some depth previously.
ReplyDeleteTo quote myself (which I didn't really want to do in this entry because it's all laid out in many, many sites):
::::"The Dance of Death or 'Le Danse Macabre' or 'Totentanz' or 'la Danza de la Muerte' was an artistic response across Europe to the devastation brought about by the plague or black death.
Although the origins are obscure, the idea of death visiting households without regard for social or economic status arose as a cultural phenomenon by way of dramatic plays. {Dante and Petrarch are mentioned as possible examples} The inevitablity of death was a reminder to be prepared by living a pious life: 'Memento Mori' -- 'Remember You Will Die'."::::
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After writing the above it occurred to me that you meant that the choice of images for this post weren't reflective of the origins? Is that what you're getting at? Because the only reason I bothered to cover this topic again was because the imagery was different to the traditional Holbein (et al) originals (mostly). I like that this genre has traversed centuries and countries and has been morphed into wildly different manifestations that might merely nod in reference to their antecedents.
Oh, that quote was from the Heidelberger Totentanz post (NOW with upsized visuality!!)
ReplyDeleteJUBINAL, Achille (1810-1875) : La Danse des morts de la Chaise-Dieu : fresque inédite du XVe siècle.- Troisième édition.- Paris : Librairie archéologique de Didron, 1862.- 20 p.- 4 f. de pl. dépl. : ill. ; 28 cm.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bmlisieux.com/curiosa/jubinal.htm
Thanks for that Olivier.
ReplyDeleteThose plates at the bottom of the page are wonderful.
You're so sweet for always pimpin me, PK! :)
ReplyDelete