The Dance of Death (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) Paperback – Illustrated, June 1, 1971

The Dance of Death ("dance macabre" in French, "Totentanz" in German) is one of the most enduring art forms of 15th-16th Century Europe. And the most popular and famous Dance of Death series is that of Hans Holbein the Younger - a set of 41 woodcuts depicting death interrupting the lives of men, women, and children from all walks and stations of life in order to make its unwelcome and ineluctable claim. Holbein's series also draws from and incorporates a related pictorial tradition of human mortality - the "Memento mori" ("remember that you will die"), which emphasizes the need for the devout to always be prepared for death. What makes Holbein's series so striking is his depiction of death in the form of mocking, leering, gleeful skeletal figures.Holbein's Dance of Death was first published in collected book form in 1538 in Lyons, France. The greater part of this Dover edition (the first 104 pages) consists of a facsimile of that 1538 book. Inasmuch as it was written and published in 16th-Century French, few modern native-English-speaking readers are likely to be drawn to it. The attraction of the Dover edition is the last 41 pages, in which Holbein's 41 woodcuts are repeated in order, with English translations of the original Latin Biblical verses and French quatrains that appeared with each print in the 1538 edition.As set forth in this Dover edition, Holbein's prints are small - 2½ inches by 1¾ inches (the same size as in the original) - and not as sharp or crisp as one would like (probably the result of deterioration of the original wood blocks used in 1538 to print the particular copy from which this facsimile was made). Still, this Dover edition is the only relatively affordable edition currently available that I know of, and the prints are of sufficient quality to make Holbein's genius and the underlying 16th-Century milieu readily accessible.Enhancing each print is the English translation of the lively and sometimes caustic quatrains from the original 1538 volume. For example, here is the quatrain for Print XVIII, "The Judge", which portrays skeletal death prying away the staff of office from a seated judge who is deciding a case between a poor man and a rich man, the latter reaching into his purse for some coins to give to the judge:"From out thy seat thou shalt be taken,So oft bribed to iniquity--Thy ill-got gains must be forsaken'No bribe can buy thy life from me."

Unfortunately, the subject matter of this book, while interesting and desirable for people like me, is a collection of photocopies of various old pages and apparently no effort was made to improve on the copied result or otherwise make them more legible. As a result I am unable to get proper knowledge from about half of this book.

The woodcuts are very small, maybe 2 inches each side.The details are hard to see this small. The Complete Woodcuts of Albrecht Durer is fabulous for observing large woodcuts.With their side aside, the playfully dark figures are amusing for those who enjoy the morbid.

...You're going to need it to view these lovely but frustratingly tiny prints. I don't know why they are so little, they do deserve more size so one can appreciate how great they are. Many reviewers here lament the same condition. Does anyone know where the complete set can be had in a book that permits more than a squinty glimpse of these marvelous images? That would be well worth having. Some of the prints seem to be omitted from the series for some reason also. I remember seeing online "Death and the Drunkard", the skeleton pouring a tankard of ale down the unfortunate man's throat. Also "Death and the Idiot", Death playing a tune for him on some bagpipes, if I remember correctly.

Great OLD Classic

The plates aren't even full pages, each is roughly business card size.

Holbeins illustrations are brilliant and fascinating. This book is very inexpensive. These two factors should make it a great addition to any library. But the images are something like 2 inches square. You can't see any detail really. I was disappointed and I guess I'll have to find another book as I would like to enjoy this macabre and fascinating series.

No idea what edition previous reviewer is commenting on but these freebies never have pix.. and i still hope evry time.. might be of use for those familar w latin or old french.

Não se trata de um livro, de fato, republicando o clássico Dance of Death (Les Simulachres & historiees faces de la Mort) de Holbein. E sim, aquelas impressões automáticas de materiais disponíveis em acervos virtuais (archive.org, por exemplo) e de péssima qualidade gráfica. Imprimi cópias das gravuras disponíveis no site do MET, em impressora caseira (jato de tinta) e elas ficaram melhores do que as presentes no livro. Não recomendo a compra.

Interesting text. Images could be better quality.

Thanks. Its a good if slight introduction to Holbein. Book is in good condition and arrived promptly.

Me esperaba algo diferente, el contenido del libro, con los grabados algo más grandes. De todas formas, una curiosidad que me gusta poder tener entre mis manos.

I possess many different titles in the Dover Art Reprint series by Poe, Doré, Goya, etc., and they are all splendidly illustrated and in a much larger size. The Poe book with Doré's illustrations of The Raven is an incredible 12x9 inches. So I do wonder why this book is so much smaller and the illustrations reprinted so tiny that you cannot see any details. This is a great disappointment compared to the otherwise great series.