The Dance of Death in Basel
One might argue about, which was more famous, Death from Lübeck or "der Liebe Tod von Basel",
but at least the mural in Basel was the longer. With its 60 meters (and 39 dancing couples) it was twice as
long as the painting in Lübeck. The painting was from ca. 1440 and thus 20-25 years older than the painting in Lübeck.
Death from Basel was in particular made famous through the copperplates that Matthäus Merian
created in 1616.
Merian's copperplates along with copies made by
Chovin, Beck and Felix Schneider
were published in countless editions through several centuries and made
Basel's dance of death world famous throughout Europe.
It must be remembered though, that when Merian produced his copperplates in 1616-1649 the painting was already ca. 200 years old
and had gone through several restorations and changes,
especially by Hans Kluber in 1568.
Demolishing of the wall.
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The picture on the left depicts the demolition in 1805
and shows brilliantly what the painting as a whole has looked like:
It was painted on the inside of a cemetery wall (you see a little of the church on the right side of the picture),
under a half-roof, protected by a metal grille, so the boys of the street couldn't throw rocks and lumps at it,
and visitors couldn't paint their graffiti.
As a matter of fact Basel had two dances of death. In the nunnery in Kleinbasel
was a copy of the dance of death from (Groß)basel.
This copy had been better protected against wind, weather, vandalism and renovations,
and here we can see how the dance of death in Basel must have looked originally before all the changes.
The River Rhine divides Basel into Großbasel (top) and Kleinbasel. The arrows indicate the two dances of death.
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The text in Kleinbasel reveals that Basel's dance originally has been a variant of
Oberdeutscher vierzeiliger Totentanz,
as we for instance know it from Heidelberg's block book.
The 24 regular participants has been expanded with 15 more:
Lawyer, hermit, young man, usurer, young woman, musician,
herald, mayor, executioner, fool, beguine, blind man, Jew,
heathen man and woman. None of these are nobility or ecclesiasticals.
Herald by Büchel
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Matthäus Merian is considered to be the person who has made the most complete
and reliable representation of the dance of death in Basel.
In comparison Frölich's book is of little use, because
most of the woodcuts are free interpretations of Holbein, while
a skilled and conscientious artist like Büchel suffers from
seeing the mural more than a 100 years later — after several renovations
and at a time where parts of the painting was ruined.
Kleinbasel, Abbess
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For this reason, Merian's copperplates are the starting point for this section about Basel, but we shall continually
see "what Merian is up to", evaluate his reliability
and try to form an image of what the original medieval painting from
ca. 1440 has been like.
In Großbasel,
patriarch and
archbishop
have been replaced by
queen and
duchess,
the lawyer by a
councilman,
the beguine by a
peddler,
while
mother and
child have given place for
the painter's own family,
which in turn were removed later along with
the painter.
A muslim becomes
a heathen,
a Turk appears and disappears, while
The Garden of Eden is
expanded.
Against all odds we'll tread carefully
while following the painting through centuries of changing taste.
Timeline
Hieronymus Hess
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- 1439: Plague epidemic in Basel.
- 1440 (ca.): The mural is created
- 1480 (ca.): The mural in Klingental (Kleinbasel) is created as a copy of Basel's mural.
- 1529: The Reformation is ushered in in Basel. The dance of death does not become victim of the iconoclasm.
- 1568: Hans Kluber undertakes a restoration and extensive changes.
- 1577: The oldest known manuscript (by Ludwig Iselin)
- 1580?: Der Todendantz
- 1581: Ulrich Frölich publishes the book »Lobspruch An die Hochloblich unnd Weitberümpte Statt Basel« with the text from the dance of death.
- 1588: Ulrich Frölich publishes the book »Zwen Todentäntz: […] Der Ander aber zu Basel«, with the text from the dance of death and illustrations.
- 1600 (ca.): The publication of colourful gouaches that are our only representation of the child
and the Turk.
- 1614-1616: Restoration by Emanuel Boch. Presumably this was when Judgment Day was added over
the doorway to The ossuary, and
the child and the Turk were removed.
- 1616: Matthäus Merian creates his copperplates.
- 1621: Merian's copperplates are published by his nephew.
- 1649: Merian revises his copperplates. and publish them along with a article about the painting's history.
Feyerabend
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- 1657/58: The painting is restored by Hans Georg Meyer.
- 1703: The painting is restored by Benedikt and Hans Georg Becker.
- 1744: Jacques-Anthony Chovin makes copies of Merian's copperplates.
- 1768: Emanuel Büchel reproduces Kleinbasel in watercolours.
- 1773: Emanuel Büchel reproduces Großbasel in watercolours.
- 1805: The mural and the wall is destroyed.
External link
Don't forget:
TodtenTantz
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Isaiah and Job
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Preacher
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Ossuary
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Pope
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Emperor
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Empress
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King
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Queen
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Cardinal
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Bishop
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Duke
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Duchess
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Count
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Abbot
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Knight
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Lawyer
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Senator
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Canon
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Physician
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Nobleman
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Noblewoman
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Merchant
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Abbess
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Cripple
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Hermit
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Young man
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Usurer
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Young woman
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Musician
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Herald
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Mayor
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Executioner
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Fool
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Peddler
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Blind man
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Jew
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Heathen
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Heathen woman
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Cook
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Peasant
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Painter
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Mother and child
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Adam and Eve
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Memento Mori
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Double portrait
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Young woman
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Cardinal
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Lawyer
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Physician
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Merchant
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Mother
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Adam and Eve
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Usurer
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Dances of death
Basel