Michael Wolgemut: Danse Macabre (1493)

(Duchess Anna Amalia Library, Weimar, Germany)

A woodblock made by the German artist Michael Wolgemut (1434 – 1519). This piece comes from the book "The Nuremberg Chronicle", written by the German physician, humanist and historian Hartman Schedel (1440 – 1514). A scene like this is called a 'danse macabre' or 'the dance of death' which serves as an allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the Dance Macabre unites all. Usually a danse macabre consists of several dancing skeletons and various living people from all ranks: an emperor, a king, a soldier, a merchant, a child, a peasant etc. It serves as a memento mori (Latin for "remember that you have to die") and reminded people of the fragility of live and the vainly pursuit of Earthly desires. Woodcut from around 1493.