TOTENTANZ or Dance of Death in Basel, Switzerland

 "Basel's famous Totentanz or Dance of Death was painted during the Council of Basel (1431-1448), possibly under the influence of the plague epidemic of 1439. The 60-m-long mural painted onto the inside wall of the cemetery of the Dominican convent showed 40 mortals locked in an encounter with Death. All that now remains of that work [Konrad Witz or his circle, Basel ca. 1435-1440, Tempura on plaster] are the 19 fragments that were saved when it was torn down in 1805 ... The Basel Dance of Death was one of the first, and still counts as one of the most important examples of the momento mori pictures, which spread throughout Europe from the 15th century onwards, being especially common in the monasteries of the mendicant orders."

'Basel Dance of Death: The Herald' in Painting and Graphic Art, Historisches Museum Basel

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BASLER TOTENTANZ ―― Rescued remnants from original mural by Witz

Row 1: Edelman Nobleman, Herold Herald, Kaufmann Merchant, Graf Count

Row 2: Arzt Doctor, Bischof Bishop, Waldbruder Forest Brother,             Herzog Duke

Row 3: Herzogin Duchess, Bauer  Farmer, Edelfrau Noblewoman,               Juengling Youth

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"There are many engravings based on the original mural which was on a wall in the churchyard of the Dominican convent at Basel, but this copy (below) can be sourced to a watercolour painted by the Swiss artist Johann Rudolph Feyerabend (1779-1814). The original tempura on plaster mural is thought to have been painted by Konrad Witz or one of his contemporaries in the mid-15th century and was possibly influenced by the plague epidemic of 1439. The 60-m-long mural portrayed 40 mortals dancing with death, which took the form of a partly-fleshed cadaver that led people from across the social spectrum to an end that was both unexpected and unwanted. Similar works exist as paintings, carvings, and manuscript illuminations, but the Basel example was one of the earliest and most important examples of its kind. It was destroyed during a riot in 1805; however, a few relics remain at the Historical Museum in Basel. Feyerabend painted his watercolour in 1806 ― the year after the mural had been demolished, so it is thought he based his rendition on copperplate reproductions, such scenes being popular subject matter for printmakers and publishers."

Paul J Nicholson, 2020, 'Johann Rudolph Feyerabend: The Dance of Death at Basel, 1806', Occupational Medicine, 70.5, 356-358.

<https://doi.org./10.1093/occmed/kqaa058>

Commons Wikimedia File: Historisches Museum Basel Totentanz jpg.

Watercolour copy of Danse Macabre by Johann Rudolph Feyerabend 1806.

The final scene at the bottom right of the lithograph is a miniature of the Preacher Church with its churchyard and wall, on which the original mural was painted.

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The Feyerabend copy does not really compare with the high quality of the surviving relics of the wall mural by Witz. Nevertheless, the copy does not deserve to be dismissed as a series of caricatures. The preaching order that commissioned the original images were deadly serious in their intent to impress their message on visitors to the churchyard. I have therefore adopted some brief Latin Totentanz verses from the Heidelberg University Library [found in S Oosterwijk, 2009, Fro Paris to Inglond? The danse macabre in text and image in late-medieval England, Appendix 6, translation by Fr Jerome Bertram OSB) to add some gravitas to the corresponding human characters in the 1806 version. This text has 26 individuals address viewers of the Dance of Death but not all have matches in the copy.

DOCTOR OF DIVINITY

O, you wise men of this world, still living,

fix in your hearts these two words of Christ, 'Come!',

not to mention 'Go!'. By the first word the gate of life

will be known to the just; but by the other the gate

of Hell is indicated: thus the matter is divided.

Complete joys ― or pains ― are there without end. 

Therefore in a sane voice I exhort you, avoid what is vain.

For the time of living is short, afterwards 'Woe, woe!'

The second death brings forth, and his own strength delivers nobody.

The flute of Hell unites you into one dance,

where the learned leap like fools, although unwillingly.

As this picture shows you, and the painted example[s].

POPE

I used to be called holy; while living I respected no one.

Now I am led in an undignified manner to my death; in vain do I resist.

EMPEROR

By my conquests I increased the might of the empire.

Now I am conquered by Death, named not Caesar, nor man even.

EMPRESS

Alive, as the wife of the emperor, I enjoyed delicacies.

Now I am confounded by Death, and enjoy no delights.

KING

As I, the king, ruled the city, no less ruled I the world.

Now I am wretched and in pain, bound by the reins of Death.

CARDINAL

I was pleasing to the Church, and given a hat by the Pope.

Yet now I am compelled to attend the impudent throng of Death.

BISHOP

As a distinguished prelate I was honoured here as if I was divine [divus?].

Alas! Now the twisting dancers take control of me to give me to Death. 

DUKE

I led out the nobles, and reflected light as their leader,

but now I am compelled to join the dance with Death.

[DUCHESS]

COUNT

A noble count of the Empire I was reputed in the world;

now I have perished by Death, joined to the dancing throng.

ABBOT

As a father I restrained my monks, and nourished them excellently.

Now I am constrained myself, and bound by the Rule of Death.

KNIGHT

Vigorous in arms, I drew to me the joys of the flesh.

Now I am led in this dance, against my rights [or: vows].

LAWYER

'It does not please me', I appeal, against the last conflict with Death.

Yet Canon and Civil Law yield to this configuration.

[CATHOLIC]

CANON

In choir I sang the melodies in which I delighted. 

The noise and the sound of the pipe of Death are dissonant.

DOCTOR

I cured many, both young men, the middle-aged, and the old.

Who shall cure me now? Death swears the opposite for me.

 NOBLEMAN

When alive I terrified strong men who were skilled in arms.

Now the terror of Death, the last error, terrifies me.

NOBLEWOMAN

I ought to applaud, were I to see the follies of life.

The pipe of Death deceives me, which sounds discords.

MERCHANT

I hoped to live, I piled up treasures.

Death spurns my tribute, and takes me away from my friends.

NUN

In the cloister I served Christ, gracious and veiled.

What use is it to pray? Death bids me to dance here.

COOK

Although in this world I prepared compound dishes

snatched away from  life, I failed to overcome death.

PEASANT

Here I lived in sweat and great toil.

No less do I escape from Death, by a contrary fate.

BEGGAR

A poor mendicant, vile friend to the living,

shall be dear to Death, who seeks him in company with the rich man.

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It also looks like the painter Feyerabend took his commission to render a version of the Witz mural very seriously. At the end of the series of individuals partnered with corpses in the dance, he paints himself and his family busily mixing paints and gathering props. The background presence of representatives of death are clear reminders of the futility of his own efforts. The final three panels acknowledge there was no exemption from the message for either the copyist or the creator of the original wall painting.

Der Spiegel aller Welt ― "The  Mirror of all the world"

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Original Sin ― "Temptation"

Der Tod zum Malor ― Der Tod zur Malerin

"The Death of the Painter ― The Death of the Painter's 'Assistant'"

Totentanz ― ( ... St Dominikanerkirsche)

"Dance of Death ― ... Saint Dominican Church

The copyist admits his debt to the initial painter of the Dance of Death by showing the walls of the churchyard where it was first displayed (1440) and then destroyed (1805).

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