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Dance Macabre of skeletons and kings, cardinals, emperors
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Dance Macabre of skeletons and kings, cardinals, emperors
A parade of skeletons of Death accompany Emperors, Kings, Cardinals, Bishops and other Nobles in a Danse Macabre. Copied from an engraving by Hollar in The History of St. Pauls Cathedral in London, 1658. Handcoloured copperplate engraving from The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein, Coxhead, London, 1816
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Media ID 23194236
© Florilegius/Mary Evans
Bishop Cardinal Danse Hans Holbein Hollar Macabre Noble Parade Procession Skeleton Wenceslaus
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This hauntingly beautiful image captures the essence of the Danse Macabre, or Dance of Death, as depicted in the engraving by Wenceslaus Hollar, taken from The History of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, published in 1658. The Danse Macabre was a popular theme in European art during the late Middle Ages, representing the universality of death and the equalizing power of the Grim Reaper. In this rendition, a parade of skeletons, each adorned with the regalia of their former stations in life, accompany emperors, kings, cardinals, bishops, and other nobles. The skeletons, personifications of Death, lead the procession, reminding the living of the inevitability of their own mortality. The emperor, dressed in his royal robes and holding a scepter, looks somberly at the skull held by the skeleton at his side. The king, with his crown askew, clutches a broken scepter, while the cardinal, in his red robes and mitre, holds a rosary. The bishops and nobles follow suit, each with their own symbolic accoutrements. The engraving, which is a hand-colored copperplate print from The Dance of Death by Hans Holbein, published by Coxhead in London in 1816, is a stunning example of the intricacy and detail that could be achieved through this printing technique. The use of color adds depth and richness to the image, enhancing the overall effect of the Danse Macabre and its message of the fleeting nature of life.
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