The physician of the dance of death : a historical study of the evolution of the dance of death mythus in art / by Aldred Scott Warthin ... with 92 illustrations.

  • Warthin, Aldred Scott, 1866-1931.
Date:
1931
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The physician of the dance of death : a historical study of the evolution of the dance of death mythus in art / by Aldred Scott Warthin ... with 92 illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    32/168 (page 10)
    Part i THE PERIOD OF THE GREAT WALL PAINTINGS HE first Dance of Death to which an exact date can be given is the “Danse Maca¬ bre” of the clois¬ ters of the church¬ yard of the In¬ nocents in Paris. Definite historical evidence exists that it was begun in August, 1424, and finished six months later. It has been preserved to us in the woodcut editions of 1485 and i486 by Guyot Marchant. Of the first edition only one copy remains to the present day, and that is in Grenoble. Numerous facsimiles and reproductions have been made of the two editions; that of 1867 is probably the best for the woodcuts, for the text that of 1875. The origin of the word Macabre, in spite of count¬ less investigations, is still in doubt, but it is certain that it was known in the fourteenth century as the name of the mystery play of the Totentanz. It is first mentioned in a line of the poet, Jean Ie Fevre “ Je fis de Macabre la dance,” dating from 1376. On the authority of Dufour the artist of the Paris Danse Macabre was a Jehann d’Orleans, the poet Jehann Gerson. It is most probable that Gerson took the old material of the mystery play and reworked it into a form suitable for the explanation of the wall paint¬ ings. The internal evidence favors the view that its text is derived from an earlier dramatic form, which may date back into the thirteenth century. The Spanish “Danca general de la muerte” of the fourteenth century is evidently to be traced back to the same source. The Prologue and Epilogue of the various dances of death also favor the view that the Danse Macabre was originally a church festival play, differ¬ ing only in its special content from other festival plays, such as those of Christmas, the Epiphany, Easter and the Passion. In some special way it must have been associated with the sermons on repentance and fasting. It is probable that the French clergy seeing the deep impression made upon the people by the Danse Macabre play sought to make this more lasting through paintings of its various scenes on the walls of the churches and cloisters. The most recent researches confirm the opinion that the Dance of Death paintings originated in France, in the thirteenth century, developing out of the old mystery play; and that all of the paintings dealing with this theme in Germany, Italy, England and elsewhere were but imitations of the French pictures. Just how and in what form the Dance of Death was carried to other countries is not known. In England a translation of the Paris Danse Macabre appeared as early as 1430. The wall paintings soon had a greater vogue than the play, and gradually replaced it; its last performance took place in France in