The Dance of Death: Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans HolbeinDouce, Francis
History
The Dance of Death: Exhibited in Elegant Engravings on Wood with a Dissertation on the Several Representations of that Subject but More Particularly on Those Ascribed to Macaber and Hans Holbein
Douce, Francis
Bible. Old Testament -- Illustrations; Dance of death
The subjects are: 1. The Creation. 2. Temptation. 3. Expulsion. 4.
Punishment. 5. A charnel house, with various figures of Death, three in
the back-ground dancing. 6. The Pope. 7. Cardinal. 8. Bishop. 9. Abbot.
10. Canon. 11. Preacher. 12. Chaplain. 13. Monk. 14. Abbess. 15. Nun. 16.
Emperor. 17. Empress. 18. King. 19. Queen. 20. Prince. 21. Princess. 22.
Earl. 23. Countess. 24. Knight. 25. Nobleman. 26. Judge. 27. Counsellor.
28. Advocate. 29. Physician. 30. Astrologer. 31. Rich man. 32. Merchant.
33. Shipwreck. 34. Lovers. 35. Child. 36. Old man. 37. Old woman. 38.
Carrier. 39. Pedler. 40. Ploughman. 41. Soldier. 42. Gamesters. 43.
Drunkards. 44. Murderer. 45. Fool. 46. Blind man. 47. Beggar. 48. Hermit.
49. Corruption. 50. Last Judgment. 51. Allegory of Death's Arms, &c.
The designs and some of the engravings are by M. Rentz, for the most part
original, with occasional hints from the Lyons wood-cuts.
Another edition with some variation was printed at Hamburg, 1759, folio.
VII. In the Lavenburg Calendar for 1792, are 12 designs by Chodowiecki for
a Dance of Death. These are: 1. The Pope. 2. The King. 3. The Queen. 4.
The General. 5. The Genealogist. 6. The Physician. 7. The Mother. 8. The
Centinel. 9. The Fish Woman. 10. The Beggar. 11. The fille de joye and
bawd. 12. The Infant.
VIII. A Dance of Death in one of the Berne Almanacks, consisting of the 16
following subjects. 1. Death fantastically dressed as a beau, seizes the
city maiden. 2. Death wearing a Kevenhuller hat, takes the housemaid's
broom from her. 3. Death seizes a terrified washerwoman. 4. He takes some
of the apple-woman's fruit out of her basket. 5. The cellar maid or
tapster standing at the door of an alehouse is summoned by death to
accompany him. 6. He lays violent hands upon an abusive strumpet. 7. In
the habit of an old woman he lays hold of a midwife with a newly born
infant in her hands. 8. With a shroud thrown over his shoulder he summons
the female mourner. 9. In the character of a young man with a chapeau bras
he brings a urinal for the physician's inspection. 10. The life-guardsman
is accompanied by Death also on horseback and wearing an enormous military
hat. 11. Death with a skillet on his head plunders the tinker's basket.
12. Death in a pair of jack-boots leads the postilion. 13. The lame beggar
led by Death. 14. Death standing in a grave pulls the grave digger towards
him by the leg. 15. Death seated on a plough with a scythe in his left
hand, seizes the farmer, who carries several implements of husbandry on
his shoulders. 16. The fraudulent inn-keeper in the act of adulterating
his liquor in the cask, is throttled by Death who carries an ale vessel at
his back. These figures are cut on wood in a free and masterly manner, by
Zimmerman, an artist much employed in the decoration of these calendars.
The prints are accompanied with dialogues between Death and the respective
parties.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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