The famous incunabulum woodcut of the Dance of Death

SCHEDEL, D. Hartmann.

Septima etas mudi. Imago mortis.
Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1493, Latin text edition. Coloured woodcut, printed area 190 x 220mm, set in text.

Repairs to margins.

The famous scene of skeletons dancing on a grave, a medieval allegory reminding people that death comes to everyone, no matter what status they attain in life. The Latin verse underneath is an adaptation of Petrarch's homage to death , ending ''Without you the life of the suffering is a perennial prison''.
The 'Liber Chronicarum' was first published in Latin on 12 July 1493, then a vernacular edition on the 23 December the same year. An estimated 1400-1500 Latin and 700-1000 German copies were printed.


Stock ID : 22793