작품 상세

This rare and early engraving is from Matthaus Merian's La danse des morts .. Todten-Tanz, wie derselbe in der löbl. u. Welt-berühmten Stadt Basel .. zu sehen ist or The Dance of the Dead... The Dance of Death, as it can be seen in the laudable and world-famous city of Basel. This engraving was published in Basel by J. R. Imhof in 1756 (though title dated 1744). The engravings were done by A. Chovin after the originals by Merian. Merian first rendered the 'Dance of Death' mural in 1616, just after Emanuel Bock's restoration. He published the most complete and reliable representation of the 'Dance of Death.' He viewed the mural as "'a mirror of human existence' in which people should recognize themselves in their transience and the resulting demand for a meaningful, God-devoted Christian life." (exhibition catalogue: Dances of Death of the HAB) Matthaeus Merian (1593-1650) was part of an exceptional artistic family. He was an artist and engraver himself that was born in Switzerland, and received training in engraving in Zurich, Nancy, Paris, and Strasbourg. He settled in Frankfurt where he worked for Johann Theodor de Bry, another accomplished publisher, and married his daughter, Maria Magdelena de Bry. He was the father of Matthaeus the Younger and the celebrated naturalist and artist, Maria Sibylla Merian. He took over De Bry's published house upon his death in 1623, and became particularly noted for his town views due to their artistry and accuracy.