Monday, November 14, 2011

The Danse Macabre Collection

woodcut of danse macabre gravedigger in cemetery
Title: Der Tod von Basel : acht Holzschnitte von Rudolf Schiestl zu dem alten Volksliede [LINK]
Author: Rudolf Schiestl, 1924



totentanz skeleton in suit laughs, derailing train
Title: Ein moderner Totentanz : dreiundzwanzig Bl�tter aus dem Bilderbuch des Todes [LINK]
Author: Tobias Weiss, 1913



lithograph of danse macabre figure taking young man to death

litho of death in form of skeleton taking knight
Title: La Danse des Morts � B�le [LINK]
Illustrator: (after) Hans Holbein, 1846



dancing skeletons inside triangular illustration border
Title: The dance of death on the Muhlenbruke at Lucerne [LINK]
Author: Caspar Meglinger, 1893



silhouette of death's dance figure downing WWI plane

danse macabre silhouette figure dressed as lady takes upper class gent to death

silhouette of danse macabre skeleton
Title: Ein Totentanz [LINK]
Authors: Walter Draesner & Max von Boehn, 1922




winged totentanz figure in sky

death's dance skeleton puts carpenter into casket

death's dance figure with sword stands behind blindfolded young person
Title: Bilder des Todes oder Todtentanz f�r alle St�nde [LINK]
Illustrator / Author: Johann Gottfried Flegel / Carl Merkel, 1850




line drawing of death's dance in middle of war
Title: Auch ein Todtentanz [LINK]
Author: Alfred Rethel & Robert Reinick, 1902




skeleton - danse macabre figure - in rocking chair
Title: Daud un D�wel [LINK]
Author / Illustrator: Karl Wagenfeld / August Heumann, 1919



many dance of death skeletons celebrate, blowing horns and wearing headdresses
Title: Schau-Platz des Todes oder Todten-Tanz in Kupffern und Versen vorgestellet [LINK]
Author: Salomon van Rusting, 1736



The Heinrich Hein University of D�sseldorf 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 f�r alle St�nde' by Carl Merkel & Johann Gottfried Flegel.
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