Children
n the editions from 1547 and 1562, the dance was extended with 10 new "dancers".
Along with these, were added
7 pictures of little chubby boys.
The woodcutter is assumed to be Veit Specklin.
The handcraft is impeccable, but the boys don't really have anything to do with the dance of death.
Maybe the corn-fed children are meant to stand out in contrast to Death?
Or maybe the publisher had simply obtained
7 pictures with which he could pad the volume?
In Theatrum Mortis Humanæ (to the right) the artist has combined
the children with the dance of death motif.
For sake of completeness, all 7 boys are shown here:
Various Artists
Dances of death
Holbein's dance of death
Children
