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Deaths holds a mirror showing the young woman what will happen to her beauty.
The text (below, to the left) is largely illegible, but the museum has deciphered it, and it is again from Todten-Capelle:
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Wer kann aus diesen lesen |
Who can read from this, |
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The dance of death is a mirror of society, and it is a staple of the genre that Death shows the noble / beautiful woman what her beauty is worth.
In many cases (E.g. in Kleinbasel) to woman only sees her own portrait. In Basel (pictured left) the elegantly dressed noblewoman sees Death's bare backside, and in the rougher versions (pictured right), she sees herself as a corpse.
Footnotes: (1)
The museum writes: »Als sie zuvor gewesen«, which doesn't make sense.
As mentioned, the text on the painting is illegible, so I choose to rely on Todten-Capelle.
Dances of death
Danish dances of death
National museum
Young woman