Danse Macabre, by Notke (1475, c.)

Title

Description

A woman in the center of the picture is dressed in a red dress. Two skeletons are dancing on both of her sides. They are semi-covered by a white cloth. On the left side, a man wears a crown and holds a sword and the globus cruciger.

Gender perspective: The two corpses represent the images of the Death of King and Queen shortly. The corpse between them, with the head covered and raising a leg in the dance, seems to be female, while the other may be interpreted as the male. Apart from that, the two corpses are identical.

Creator

Notke, Bernt (1440–1509)

Source

Museum of Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia.
https://kunstimuuseum.ekm.ee/en/overview/ecclesiastical-art-collection/

Archived in:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200704212530/https://kunstimuuseum.ekm.ee/en/overview/ecclesiastical-art-collection/

Also found in "Dances of Death" webpage:
http://www.dodedans.com/Eest.htm

Archived in:
https://web.archive.org/web/20191221123047/http://www.dodedans.com/Eest.htm

Wikimedia Commons:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bernt_Notke_Danse_Macabre.jpg

Archived in:
https://web.archive.org/web/20200121150006/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bernt_Notke_Danse_Macabre.jpg

Date

1475, c.

Format

Oil on canvas.
Dimensions: 160 × 750 cm