Death in Basel: Three Visions of the Great Dance of Death (Reprints of Death)

Introduction For centuries, one of Europe's most celebrated works of public art stood on the cemetery wall of St. John's Church in Basel, Switzerland. Known as the Basel Dance of Death (Totentanz), the mural depicted Death leading people of every rank and station toward their inevitable fate. Though the original frescoes were eventually destroyed, their influence endured through a succession of artists, engravers, and publishers who sought to preserve their imagery for future generations. This volume brings together three historic editions of the Basel Dance of Death tradition, originally published separately and reproduced here in facsimile. By presenting these works together, readers may compare three distinct attempts to preserve and reinterpret one of Europe's most famous lost monuments. The first work, Todten-Tanz (Basel: Herrmann & Söhne), presents an engraved version of the famous mural cycle, described on its title page as being produced "after the original." It preserves the traditional procession in which emperors, kings, queens, bishops, merchants, scholars, peasants, children, and beggars are all summoned by Death. Conceived as a "mirror of human nature," the work embodies one of the most powerful moral and artistic themes of the late medieval world. The second work, La danse des morts by Hieronymus Hess (Basel: Sattler), is among the most important nineteenth-century reconstructions of the Basel frescoes. Accompanied by French, German, and English text, Hess's edition sought to preserve the appearance and spirit of the lost murals while making them accessible to a new generation of readers and scholars. The third work, The Dance of Death (Basel: Fenner-Matter), demonstrates the continuing fascination exerted by the Basel Dance of Death tradition. Drawing upon the established iconography of the mural cycle, it presents a richly detailed procession of rulers, clergy, nobles, tradesmen, artists, and common people, each confronted by the universal reality of mortality. Together these three works document more than a single artistic subject. They trace the survival of one of Europe's most famous lost monuments through engraving, reconstruction, and revival. Spanning different periods and approaches, they reveal how the Basel Dance of Death continued to shape artistic and cultural imagination long after the original frescoes had vanished. This facsimile edition offers collectors, historians, artists, and readers a rare opportunity to compare three distinct interpretations of the legendary Dance of Death of Basel and to follow the evolution of a tradition that has endured for centuries. Peter Case Editor