Dance of the Death - Der Tod Reitet zur stadt (Death rides into town)
| Reference: | S42127 |
| Author | Alfred Rethel |
| Year: | 1851 ca. |
| Measures: | 257 x 180 mm |
| Reference: | S42127 |
| Author | Alfred Rethel |
| Year: | 1851 ca. |
| Measures: | 257 x 180 mm |
Description
Death, with his attributes, riding the horse of Madness towards a town, presumably Dresden. Two girls are fleeing before him - the first clue that unlike the Renaissance figure, Rethel’s Death is visible to mortal humans. Also in variance, Rethel’s Death requires magical props in order to seduce his victims, whereas in Renaissance depictions Death was powerful enough to merely place a hand upon his selected.
Wood-engraving, printed on wove paper, with margins, perfect conditions. From a series entitled The Dance of Death inspired by the Belgian uprisings of 1848.
Alfred Rethel (May 15, 1816 - December 1, 1859) was a German painter with an emphasis on historical themes. However, mental imbalance, attributed, it is believed, to an accident he suffered in childhood, influenced his work. While oscillating between insanity and sanity, Rethel produced some of his most striking, individual, and impressive works.
Strange legends are told about the effect produced by some of his strange subjects; the painting Nemesis Chasing a Murderer, was won in a lottery in Frankfurt by a high-ranking personage who had been guilty of an as-yet-undiscovered crime, and the contemplation of his prize drove him mad. Rethel also executed Death the Avenger, a skeleton appearing at a masquerade ball, gently scraping, like a violinist, over two human bones. The subject produced a stir among some of his artist friends; as atonement he composed Death the Friend. Rethel also executed a series entitled The Dance of Death inspired by the Belgian uprisings of 1848. It is for subjects like these, executed with a technique based on that of Albrecht Dürer and animated by an imagination similar to that of the old master, that Rethel is best known.
Woodcut published by Julius Buddeus (fl.1830s–52) and Hugo Leopold Friedrich Heinrich Bürkner (1818–97), block cut by Richard Julius Jungtow (1828–[after]1851), printed by Breitkopf and Härtel (fl.1719–1897). The present, magnificent, example is before the letter.
Bibliografia
Manteuffel, Kurt Zoege von, Alfred Rethel ... mit einem ... kritischen Verzeichnis der Bilddrucke (1926); Albert Boime, Alfred Rethel’s Counterreolutionary Death Dance, in “The Art Bulletin”, Vol. LXXIII; ; Kerrianne Stone, Uprisings, epidemics and spontaneous deaths, University of Melbourne Collections, Issue 9, December 2011.
Alfred Rethel (Aachen 1816 - 1859)
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Rethel was born in Aachen in 1816. He showed an interest in art in his early life, and at the age of thirteen he executed a drawing which procured his admission to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Here he studied for several years, and produced, among other works, a figure of St Boniface, which attracted much attention. At the age of twenty, Rethel moved to Frankfurt, and was selected to decorate the walls of the imperial hall in the Römer with Fresco paintings of figures of famous men. At the same period he produced a series of designs illustrative of Old Testament history. Four years later, Rethel was the successful competitor for the work of ornamenting the restored council house of his native city with frescoes depicting prominent events in the career of Charlemagne, but the execution of this work was delayed for some six years. Meanwhile, Rethel occupied himself with the production of easel pictures and of drawings. In 1842, he began a striking series of designs dealing with the Crossing of the Alps by Hannibal, in which the weird power which animates his later art becomes first apparent. In 1844, Rethel visited Rome, executing, along with other subjects, an altar-piece for one of the churches of his native land. In 1846, he returned to Aachen, and commenced his Charlemagne frescoes. But mental derangement, attributed, it is believed, to an accident that he suffered in childhood, began to manifest itself. While he hovered between madness and sanity, Rethel produced some of the most striking, individual, and impressive of his works. Strange legends are told of the effect produced by some of his weird subjects. He painted Nemesis pursuing a murderer across a flat stretch of landscape. A slaughtered body lies on the ground, while in front is the assassin speeding away into the darkness, and above an angel of vengeance. The picture, so the story goes, was won in a lottery at Frankfurt by a personage of high rank, who had been guilty of an undiscovered crime, and the contemplation of his prize drove him mad. Another design which Rethel executed was "Death the Avenger," a skeleton appearing at a masked ball, scraping daintily, like a violinist, upon two human bones. The drawing haunted the memory of his artist friends and disturbed their dreams; and, in expiation, he produced his pathetic design of "Death the Friend." Rethel also executed a powerful series of drawings "The Dance of Death" suggested by the Belgian insurrections of 1848. It is by such designs as these, executed in a technique founded upon that of Albrecht Dürer, and animated by an imagination akin to that of the elder master, that Rethel is most widely known.
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Alfred Rethel (Aachen 1816 - 1859)
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Rethel was born in Aachen in 1816. He showed an interest in art in his early life, and at the age of thirteen he executed a drawing which procured his admission to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Here he studied for several years, and produced, among other works, a figure of St Boniface, which attracted much attention. At the age of twenty, Rethel moved to Frankfurt, and was selected to decorate the walls of the imperial hall in the Römer with Fresco paintings of figures of famous men. At the same period he produced a series of designs illustrative of Old Testament history. Four years later, Rethel was the successful competitor for the work of ornamenting the restored council house of his native city with frescoes depicting prominent events in the career of Charlemagne, but the execution of this work was delayed for some six years. Meanwhile, Rethel occupied himself with the production of easel pictures and of drawings. In 1842, he began a striking series of designs dealing with the Crossing of the Alps by Hannibal, in which the weird power which animates his later art becomes first apparent. In 1844, Rethel visited Rome, executing, along with other subjects, an altar-piece for one of the churches of his native land. In 1846, he returned to Aachen, and commenced his Charlemagne frescoes. But mental derangement, attributed, it is believed, to an accident that he suffered in childhood, began to manifest itself. While he hovered between madness and sanity, Rethel produced some of the most striking, individual, and impressive of his works. Strange legends are told of the effect produced by some of his weird subjects. He painted Nemesis pursuing a murderer across a flat stretch of landscape. A slaughtered body lies on the ground, while in front is the assassin speeding away into the darkness, and above an angel of vengeance. The picture, so the story goes, was won in a lottery at Frankfurt by a personage of high rank, who had been guilty of an undiscovered crime, and the contemplation of his prize drove him mad. Another design which Rethel executed was "Death the Avenger," a skeleton appearing at a masked ball, scraping daintily, like a violinist, upon two human bones. The drawing haunted the memory of his artist friends and disturbed their dreams; and, in expiation, he produced his pathetic design of "Death the Friend." Rethel also executed a powerful series of drawings "The Dance of Death" suggested by the Belgian insurrections of 1848. It is by such designs as these, executed in a technique founded upon that of Albrecht Dürer, and animated by an imagination akin to that of the elder master, that Rethel is most widely known.
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