The dance of death. Lithograph.

Participants in the dance of death are identified in German from the left top corner to the lower right corner: Pope; emperor; empress; cardinal; king; bishop; duke; abbot; knight; carthusian; mayor; canon; nobleman; doctor; money-lender; chaplain; magistrate; sexton; merchant; hermit; peasant; youth; maiden; infant

The topic of the dance of death appeared for the first time in the second half of the fourteenth century and especially in the fifteenth century. From the sixteenth century onwards, pictures of this subject became more frequent but they do not necessarily depict an entire dance of death as depictions may be broken up into groups. Originally, these chains of dancers were painted as frescos in cloisters and on the walls of churchyards. The early depictions of the dance of death which were mostly commissioned by the Church, had a specific purpose: the viewers were to be reminded of the transience of life, the uncertainty of the hour of death and the relentlessness of death. Death does not distinguish between class, profession, age or gender but equalizes everyone

Situated on the north side of St. Mary's church at Lübeck was the so-called 'chapel of the dead'. Whoever entered this chapel found him-herself in the centre of a dance of death, composed of twenty-four figures of death and various representatives of the classes. This fresco dating from 1463, covered all four walls of the chapel, which was destroyed in the spring of 1942

[Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified]

1 print : lithograph, with watercolour

Der Todtentanz in der St. Marien Kirche zu Lübeck.

Wellcome Collection 28949i