Danse Macabre

Wolgemut's Danse Macabre, 1493

Michael Wolgemut’s Danse Macabre is a testament to the lasting horrors of the Black Plague, one of the most catastrophic epidemics within modern history. The Black Plague originated in Asia and spread to the European continent by way of the Silk Road and boats (Duiker 345). Italy, a major trading company in the 14th century, was ravaged by the disease first in 1347; the Plague then overtook nearly the entire European continent within four years due to its highly infectious nature (Duiker 346-47). Although the pestilence resulted in horrible symptoms, the rapid death rate was the main cause of hysteria: 38 out of 75 million Europeans died within a four year time span (Duiker 346). Wolgemut created this piece in 1493 during the final stages of the Middle Ages where the social atmosphere, especially in Wolgemut’s native Germany, continued to be affected by the lasting trauma of the Black Plague (Knox). 

Artistically, Wolgemut’s work is not beautiful, instead capturing the essence of the Black Death. The process of decay, as demonstrated by the character on the far right, explicitly shows vital organs and intestines spilling out towards the dirt ground despite the remnants of human flesh that still cling to his severely emaciated frame (Knox). Additionally, the sumptuous folds of fabric that envelop his limbs suggest former wealth, alluding to the fact that death did not discriminate against social and economic class. Wolgemut purposely does not distinguish his skeletons as male or female, representing the fact that the Plague attacked both human genders, including children. Wolgemut argues for the inescapability of death through the portrayal of the shackles that bind the ankles of the two central skeletons. The inclusion of several snakes in this woodcut introduces overt messages to both the intended audience and society. Biblically, snakes symbolized Satan—and evil—as he disguised himself as the reptile in the Garden of Eve and consequently mislead Adam and Eve from God. Thus, Wolgemut’s strategic placing of three snakes, one slithering out of the chest of the farthermost right almost-skeleton and two (one in the ribs, another the right bicep) on the almost-skeleton located in the grave indicate the presence of Satan on Earth during the Black Plague, perhaps suggesting that he poisoned man’s heart and indirectly created a sinful world . Thus, Wolgemut’s work acts as propaganda and a warning to a German society that was transitioning towards the Renaissance (and a more secular society) as it threatens both the degradation of health and spiritual salvation save the continuation of faith as a personal cornerstone (Duiker 351). 

Dance Macabre documents the very real harms of the Black Plague through showing the perverse nature of death. Europe had never experienced something as destructive as the Black Plague and therefore associated epidemic with death.  Despite this fact, Wolgemut captures the social obsession with pestilence through illustrating the dance of death, a fate no one escapes.

Works Cited

“Danse Macabre.” Wikipedia. 1 May 2011. Wikimedia Foundation 18 Apr 2011.

Duikier William J. and Jackson J. Spielvogel, eds. World History. 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomas Wadsworth, 2007.

Knox, Dr. E. L. Skip. Europe in the Late Middle Ages. Boise State University. Web. 18 Apr 2011.

MacKenbach, John P. “Dances of Death, Occupational Morality Statistics, and Social Critique.” BJM: British Medical Journal 313.7072 (1996): 1587-1591. Print.

“Michael Wolgemut.” Wikipedia. 27 Jan 2011. Wikimedia Foundation. 1 May 2011.

Norwich, John Julius, ed. Oxford illustrated Encyclopedia of the Arts. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.