D\QV.' X. V ) z^ /^ /^'.v^^^ ^ y/^^ ^^<^^ /^C^^^-/-^-- 7^L^^.f£^y ^^-^/ :^?i^ Jf^e. £Cx^^ 2''-^ <^Z^^ £<^.C^ ^^-V^ /a^a /^l^^r^2r7,^ . yj ^/> i K. TeMPVS e£0,Jvie quo nilri'd ^ quo^m^ crmtum eft . Me fme nx aelum , ne^ ccdo Jidera , nee Jol ^urnis trraJient :Jme me , nee ten-a , nee cequor, Et quuLiad vdfh. Mundi eowpc^c tenetur , Existant: Sed emm , ;per nie,velut mma conflmt; Omnia Jie rurfim , fcr me , revoluta lahascent . B. liU 1^0 , qua frjfcis Oc CASIO eo^a Seelis . O^e qmeunque eatus nan JdfHdiuit , amico Sed vultu aceej^tam tenuit , maniata eajieffens ; iJle fihi , c(ympos voti , decorn ampla ^arauit . ALACRES OCCASiONIS COMMODA A ^ff J^ Jolunte Jerues , et noueris vti • 'Ma^s ens ^u^. B. Grates a^o Nyr^ha pennnes In p-etto Jmi dona tiht : dem vtere luxta J^umtms inntnctum, et Ductonm lusfa tuamn . Sore volo ad ^uantos OCCASIO ducat honores . ^^ft eyo sua fhf^atur mmere . G. Taxo Ne duhtta; mntsfta meu eft. mens tfta meorum. Jli^rlejir mans vf^ue insiduiluvr lucnS ' J &.xw;'?(Tempvs ftOccasionem ikseqvi^tvr .NONASsEQyrtiTVR . p. [A. Qrirm JPcn , quantum video , rum omms ademta. Spes Tw'cns . noua -prceteritortcm alhidit imajo . 'B. Sifie arahm , "Temvvs. Quo tarn permcihus all's Pr^r^Tjtas ^ A . Lentefce precor , nofi^ adjj^e -pmfens . B. Ah'.Jiwit. C. Heu'. -veldx Occasio frccterit , ora Detorquens alto. D. Miferis quid deniqj reftatf C Qmd vetat inuffis manihus retinere Jv^M:em^ D. ferte manus . C- -E« ehilata ^.-vefle relifla. 'VrerUe capdlituim , et prop~io remarare capi/lro. E. "Idru'.jerp Japmus:F. Post EST OCCASIO CALm. umolems L I B R.AFIY OF THE U N I VERSITY or ILLl NOIS X24-& Digitized by the Internet Arciiive in 2009 with funding from University of^lllfjriois Utbana>Ghampaign http://www.archive.org/details/danceofdeathfromOOholb WiixcEsLAiii Hollar /-^/^A^ -^ Xi'//' THE FROM THE ORIGINAL DESIGNS OF HANS HOLBEIN. ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY-THREE PLATES, ENGRAVED BY W. HOLLAR. WITK DESCRIPTIONS IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH. What's yet in this Th*t bears the name of life! yet in this life Lie hid more thoMaud deaths; yet death we fear, That makes these odds all even. SHAKSPEAKE. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. COXHEAD, HOLYWELL.STREET, STRAND. 1816. [Price 25*. in Boarit.] London : Printed by B. M'MUUn, 1 Bow Street, C«vcnt Garden. J HANS HOLBEIN rAIXTEll THE LIFE OF HOLBEIN John IIOLBEIN, better known by his German name Hans Holbein, a most excel- lent painter, was born, according to some accounts, at Basil in Switzerland in 1498; but Charles Patin places his birth three years earlier, supposing it very improbable that he could have arrived at such maturity of judg- ment and perfection in painting, as he shewed in 1514 and 1516, if he had been born so late as 1498. He learned the rudiments of his art from his father John Holbein, who was a painter, and had removed from Augsburg to Basil; but the superiority of his genius soon raised him above his master. He painted our Saviour's Passion in the town-house of Basil ; B ^ LIFE OF HOLBEIN. and in the fish-market of the same town, a Dance of peasants, and Death's dance. These pieces were exceedingly striking to the curious ; and Erasmus was so affected with them, that he requested of him to draw his picture, and was ever after his friend. Holbein, in the mean time, though a great genius and fine artist, had no elegance or delicacy of man- ners, but was given to wine and revelling company ; for which he met with the follow- ing gentle rebuke from Erasmus. When Erasmus wrote his " Moriae Encomium," or " Panegyric upon Folly," he sent a copy of it to Hans Holbein, who was so pleased with the several descriptions of folly there given, that he designed them all in the margin ; and where he had not room to draw the whole figures, pasted a piece of paper to the leaves. lie then returned the book to Erasmus, who seeing that he had represented an amorous fool by the^ figure of a fat Dutch lover, hug- ging his bottle and his lass, wrote under it, '* Hans Holbein," and so sent it back to the LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 3 painter. Holbein, however, to be revenged of him, drew the picture of Erasmus for a musty book-worm, who busied himself in scraping together old MSS. and antiquities, and wrote under it " xldagia." It is said, that an English nobleman, who accidentally saw some of Holbein's perform- ances at Basil, invited him to come to Eng- land, where his art was in high esteem ; and promised him great encouragement from Henry VIII.; but Holbein was too much engaged in his pleasures to listen to so advan- tageous a proposal, A few years after, how- ever, moved by the necessities to which an increased family and his own mismanagement had reduced him, as well as by the persuasions of his friend Erasmus, who told him how im- proper a country his own was to do justice to his merit, he consented to go to England : and he consented the more readily, as he did not live on the happiest terms with his wife, who is said to have been a termagant. In his journey thither he stayed some days at Stras- B 2 4 LIFE OF IIOLBFIN. burg, and applying to a very great master in that city for work, was taken in, and ordered to give a specimen of his skill. Holbein finished a piece with great care, and painted a fly upon the most conspicuous part of it ; after which he withdrew privily in the absence of his master, and pursued his journey. AVhen the painter returned home, he was astonished at the beauty and elegance of the drawing ; and especially at the fly, which, upon his first casting his eye upon it, he so far took for a real fly, that he endeavoured to remove it with his hand. He sent all over the city for his journeyman, who was now missing ; but after many enquiries, found that he had been thus deceived by the famous Holbein. This story has been somewhat differently told, as if the painting was a portrait for one of his patrons at Basil, but the effect was the same, for before he was discovered, he had made his escape. After almost begging his way to England, as Patin tells us, he found an easy admit- LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 5 tance to the lord-chancellor, Sir Thomas More, having brought with him Erasmus's picture^ and letters recommendatory from him to that great man. Sir Thomas received him with all the joy imaginable, and kept him in his house between two and three years; during which time he drew Sir Thomas's pic- ture, and those of many of his friends and re- lations. One day Holbein happening to men- tion the nobleman who had some years ago invited him to England, Sir Thomas was very solicitous to know who he was. Holbein re- plied, that he had indeed forgot his title, but remembered his face so well, that he thought he could draw his likeness ; and this he did so very strongly, that the nobleman, it is said, was immediately known by it. This noble- man, some think, was the Earl of Arundel, others the Earl of Surrey. The Chancellor, having now sufficiently enriched his apart- ments with Holbein's productions, adopted the follo\ving method to introduce him to Henry VIII. He invited the king to an en- 6 LIFE OF IIOLHELN. tertiiinment, and hung up all Holbein's pieces, disposed in the best order, and in the best hght, in the great hall of his house. 'I'he king, upon his first entrance, was so charmed with the sight of them, that he asked, '' Whe- ther such an artist were now alive, and to be had for money ?" on which Sir Thomas pre-r sented Holbein to the king, who immediately took him into his service, with a salary of 200 florins, and brought him into great esteem with the nobility of the kingdom. The king from time to time manifested the great value he had for him; and upon the death of Queen Jane, his third wife, sent him into Flanders, to draw the picture of the Duchess Dowager of Milan, widow of Francis Sforza, whom the Emperor CharlesV. had recommended to him for a fourth wife ; but the king's defection from the See of Rome happening about that time, he rather chose to match with a protes- tant princess. Cromwell, then his prime mi- nister (for Sir Thomas More had been re- moved, and beheaded), proposed Anne of LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 7 Cleves to him ; but the king was not inclined to the match, till her picture, which Holbein had also drawn, was presented to him. There, as Lord Herbert of Cherbury says, she was represented so very charming, that the king immediately resolved to marry her; and thus Holbein was unwittingly the cause of the ruin of his patron Cromwell, whom the king never forgave for introducing him to Anne of Cieves. In England Holbein drew a vast number of admirable portraits ; among others, those of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. on the wall of the palace at Whitehall, which perished when it was burnt, though some endeavours ■were made to remove that part of the wall on which the pictures were drawn. There happened, however, an affair in England, which might have been fatal to Holbein, if the king had not protected him. On the re- port of his character, a nobleman of the first quality wanted one day to see him, when he was drawing a figure after the life. Holbein, 8 LIFE OF HOLBEIN. ill answer, begged his lordship to defer the honour of his visit to another day ; which the nobleman taking for an affront, came, broke open the door, and very rudely Ment up stairs. Holbein, hearing a noise, left his chamber ; and meeting the lord at his door, fell into a violent passion, and pushed him backwards from the top of the stairs to the bottom. Considering, however, immediately what he had done, he escaped from the tu- mult he had raised, and made the best of his way to the king. The nobleman, much hurt, though not so much as he pretended, was there soon after him ; and upon opening his grievance, the king ordered Holbein to ask pardon for his offence. But this only irri- tated the nobleman the more, who would not be satisfied with less than his life ; upon which the king sternly replied, " My lord, you have not now to do with Holbein, but with me ; whatever punishment you may con- trive by way of revenge against him, shall as- suredly be inflicted upon yourself: remember, LIFR OF HOLBEIN. 9 pray, my lord, that I can, whenever I please, make seven lords of seven ploughmen, but I cannot make one Holbein even of seven lords." We cannot undertake to give a list of Hol- bein's works, but this may be seen in Wal- pole's Anecdotes. Soon after the accession of the late king, a noble collection of his drawings was found in a bureau at Kensing- ton, amounting to eighty-nine. These, which are of exquisite merit, have been admirably imitated in engraving, in a work published lately by John Chambprlaine, F. S. A. cer- tainly one of the most splendid books, and most interesting collections of portraits ever executed. Holbein painted equally well in oil, water-colours, and distemper, in large and in miniature : but he had never practised the art of painting in miniature, till he re- sided in England, and learned it from Lucas Cornelii; though he afterwards carried it to its highest perfection. His paintings of that kind have all the force of oil-colours, and are 10 LIFE OF HOLBEIN. finished with the utmost delicacy. In general, he painted on a green ground, but in his small pictures frequently he painted on a blue. The invention of Holbein was surprisingly fruitful, and often poetical ; his execution was remarkably quick, and his application indefati- gable. His pencil was exceedingly delicate ; his colouring had a wonderful degree of force ; he finished his pictures with exquisite neat- ness ; and his carnations were life itself His genuine works are always distinguishable by the true, round, lively imitation of flesh, vi- sible in all his portraits, and also by the amazing delicacy of his finishing. It is observed by most authors, that Hol- bein always painted with his left hand ; though Walpole objects against that tradition, (what he considers as a proof), that in a portrait of Holbein painted by himself, which was in the Arundelian collection, he is represented hold- ing the pencil in the right hand. But that evidence cannot be sufficient to set aside so general a testimony of the most authentic LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 11 writers on this subject: because, although habit and practice might enable him to handle the pencil fimiiliarly with his left hand, yet, as it is so unusual, it must have had but an unseemly and awkward appearance in a picture ; which probably might have been his real inducement for representing himself with- out such a particularity. Besides, the writer of Holbein's life, at the end of the treatise by De Piles, mentions a print by Hollar, still extant, which describes Holbein draw- ing with his left hand. Nor is it so extra- ordinary or incredible a circumstance ; for other artists are remarked for the very same habit; particularly Mozzo of Antwerp, who worked with the left; and Amico As- pertino, as well as Ludovico Cangiagio, who worked equally well with both hands. This great artist died of the plague at London in 1554; some think at his lodgings in AVhitehall, where he had lived from the time that the king became his patron, but Ver- tue rather thought at the Duke of Nor- 12 LIFE OF HOLBEIN. folk's house, in the priory of Christ church near Aldgate, then called Duke's-place. Strype says that he was buried in St. Cathe- rine Cree church ; but this seems doubtful. THE DANCE OF DEATH, The celebrity of a subject which has been distinguished by the labours of such artists as Holbein and Hollar, seems necessarily to de- mand some investigation of its origin*. In the dark ages of monkish bigotry and su- perstitioUj the deluded people, terrified into a belief that the fear of death was acceptable to the great Author of their existence, had placed * It would be a piece of injustice not to mention, that this has already been done in a very able manner, by a respected friend of the compiler of the present essay, in a little work, intitled " Emblems of Mortality," ornamented with copies in wood, of the Dance of Death, by J. Bewick, the brother of the admirable artist who executed the cuts to a history of quadrupeds, lately published. The work was printed for T. Hoduson, Clerkcnwell, in 1789, 12mo. The editor of it will immediately perceive that no rivality is here intended ; that in the pursuit of a subject of this nature many of the same authorities must have naturally presented themselves, and in order to connect it properly, must again be of course adopted. Independently of these, the rest of this slight per- formance is only designed as supplemental. 14 THE DANCE OF DEATH. one of their principal gratifications in contem- plating it amidst ideas the most horrid and dis- gusting : hence the frequent descriptions of mortalit_y in all its shapes amongst tlieir writers, and the representations of this kind, in their books of religious offices, and the paintings and sculptures of their ecclesiastic buildings. They had altogether lost sight of the consolatory doc- trines of the Gospel, which regard death in no terrific point of view whatever ; a discovery re- served for the discernment of modern and en- lightened Christians, who contemplate scenes which excited gloom and melancholy in the minds of their forefathers^ with the gratifica- tion of philosophic curiosity. Some exceptions^ however, to this remark are not wanting, for we may yet trace the imbecility of former ages in the decorations of many of our monuments^ tricked out in all the silly ornaments of deaths' heads and marrow-bones. The most favourite subject of the kind^ how- ever, was what is usually denominated the Dance of Death, or a representation of Death in the act of leading all ranks and conditions of men to the grave; with gesticulations not a little bor- dering upon the grotesque, though probably without any view to provoke the mirth of the spectator in those times. One of the most an- cient still existing, is that at Basil in Switzer- THE DANCE OF DEATH. 15 land, in the church-yard formerly belonging to the coiivent of Dominicans, Nvhich is said to have been painted at the instance of the fathers and prelates assisting at the grand council at Basil, in 1431, in memory of a plague which happened soon afterwards, and during its con- tinuance. The name of the painter is unknown, and will probably ever remain so, for no depend- ence can be had upon vague conjectures of those who, w ithont any authority, or even the smallest probability, have attempted to ascertain it. To refute, or even to mention the blunders which have been committed by most of the travellers who have described the town of Basil, when they discuss this subject^ would fill a volume : it will be sufficient to notice an assertion of Keysler, that the painting was executed by Hans Bok, a celebrated painter of this place, who, however, from the testimony of Scheutzer^, in his Itinerary, was not born till 1584. From some inscriptions on the spot it appears to have been retouched, or perhaps renewed, in 1566 and 1616; the first time probably by Hans Klauber, whose name occurs in the lines ad- dressed by Death to the Painter. It has been frequently supposed that the Basil painting was the first of the kind; but this is extremely doubtful, from the knowledge we have of many others of apparently equal antiquity. 16 THE DANCE OF DEATH. Manjofthebridges ill Germany and Switzerland were ornamented in this manner^ a specimen of which is still to be seen at Lucerne; and it is probable that almost every church of eminence was decorated with a Dance of Death. In the cloisters of St. Innocent's church at Paris, in those belonging to the old cathedral of St. Paul at London*^ and in St. Mary's church at Berlin, these paintings were to be seen. At Rlingcn- thal, a convent in the Little Basil, are the re- mains of a Dance of Death, differently designed from that at the Dominicans, and thought to be more ancient. The figures remaining till very lately in Hungerford's chapel, in the cathedral at Salisbury, and known by the title of Death and the Young Man, were undoubtedly part of a Death's Dance, as might be further insisted on from the fragment of another compartment which was close to them. In the church at Hexham, in Northumberland, are the remains of a Death's Dance; and at Feschamps, in Nor- mandy, it is carved in stone, between the pil- lars of a church; the figures are about eighteen inches high. Even fragments of painted glass, * On the walls of a cloister on the north side of St. Paul's, called Pardon-church-haugh, was painted the Machabre, or Dance of Death, a conimOD subject on the walls of cloisters or religious places. This was a single piece, a long train of all orders of men, from the Pope to the lowest of human beings; each figure has as his partner, Death; the first .shaking his THE DANCE OF DEATH. 17 whereon this subject has been depicted, with old English verses over the figures, may contri- bute to shew how very common it has been in our own country. P. C. Hilcher, in a tract printed at Dresden in 1705, has taken notice of other Dances of Death at Dresden, Annaberg, Leip- zig, and Berne. Dr. Nugent has described one in St. Mary's church at Lubeck, which he states to have been painted in 14G3. The origin of all these is perhaps to be sought for in an ancient pageant, or religious farce, in- vented by the clergy, for the purpose of at once amusing and keeping the people in ignorance. In this all ranks and conditions of life were perso- nated and mixed together in a general dance, in the course of which every one in his turn vanishes from the scene, to shew that none were exempted from the stroke of death. This dance was per- formed in the churches, and can be traced back rememberiug hour-glass. Our old poet Lydgate, who flou- rished ill the year 1430, translated a poem on the subject, from the French verses which attended a painting of the same kind about St. Innocent's cloister, at Paris. The original verses were made by Macaber, a German, in his own language. This shews the antiquity of the subject, and the origin of the hint from which Holbein composed his famous painting at Basil. This cloister, the dance, and innumerable fine monuments (for here were crowded by far the most superb) fell victims to the sacrilege of the Protector Somerset, who demolished the whole, and carried the materials to his palace then erecting in the Strand. 7- Pew/w«t'« London, vol. ii. p. 135. C 18 THE DANCE OF DEATH. as far as the ^ear 1424*; it was called the Dance of Macaber, from a German poet of that name, who first composed some verses under the same title. Of this person very little is known, but Fabricius thinks the poem more ancient than the paintingsf . His work has been translated into Latin and French, in the last of which languages there are some very ancient and very modern editions. The earliest allusion to the subject, but whe- ther to the above-mentioned farce or to the paint- ings seems uncertain, is in the following lines, from the Visions of Pierce the Plowman, who wrote about 1350. Death came drivynge after, and all to dust pasbed, Kynges and kaysers, lvho have spoken upon this subject with any degree of accuracy, and fortu- nately their testimony throws much light upon it. To the book already mentioned to have been published by the Trechsels, at Lyons, they some- times annexed another, which was in some degree connected with it, and appears to have been printed by them the following year. This was entitled, ^^ Historiarum veteris testamentiicones," the cuts of which are in some instances much in- ferior to the others, and apparently by a different artist. The designs of these are indisputably by Holbein, as appears from some verses before the book, composed by Nicolas Bourbon, a cotem- porary poet, who also wrote some lines upon a Dance of Death painted by Holbein*. To these cuts to the Bible, are prefixed the first four which occur in the Dance of Death, as they like- wise belong to the subject, and represent the creation and fall of man; but they are different in size, and were added, not only from the analogy of the subjects, but from the circumstance of their being already in the hands of the printer ; and thus, from an odd coincidence of things, as well as a palpable confusion of the respective verses of Bourbon, seems to have originated an * Borbonii Nngarum libri octo. Basil 1540, 12mo. p. 445, THE DANCE OF DEATH. 23 opinion, that Holbein invented the Dance of Death. But it has not only been asserted that Holbein designed, but that he engraved, or rather cut this Dance of Death on wood. That he practised this art, nay, that he excelled in it, there is reason to believe, from some specimens that have been preserved, and which bear on them the unequi- vocal marksof H. H. & HANS. HOLBEN*. A set of cuts with the latter mark occurs in Arch- bishop Cranmer's Catechism, printed by Walter LyneinJ548; and although the composition of these is extremely good, their execution is not only inferior to the Dance of Death, but entirely different in its manner: and the mark of lij which is to be seen upon one of the cuts in this latter work, has been ascribed without any authority to Holbein, upon the strength of the vague opinions concerning his interference with the Dance of Deathf. The great popularity and success of these cuts very soon excited many imitations of them both in copper and on blocks. In 1541, Aldegrever engraved eight of them, but with very material alterations. Other editions of the Imagines Mor- * It is not however impossible that Holbein, in putting his mark upon these cuts, might only intend to shew that he de- signed them, or drew the subject upon the blocks. + This mark is also given by Professor Christ, in his Diction- naire des Monograrames, to Hans Lautensack, and Hans Le- derer, persons of whom absolutely nothing is known. 24 THE DANCE OF DEATH. tis, which had been first published under that title in 1545, appeared in 1555, 1566, 1573, and probably at many other times ; these were also accompanied witli cuts in wood by a very eminent but unknown artist, whose mark is J^ • This mark is also to be found in some of the Emblems of Sambucus and Lejeune, in some ini- nitial letters to Grafton's Chronicle, and in other cuts executed during the sixteenth century*. It is not a little remarkable, that so late as the year 1654, there appeared a Dutch book, printed * The inaccurate Papillon, who in matters of historical dis- cussion is hardly ever to be trusted, lias asserted in his " Traits de la gravureen bois," that this is the mark of vSilvius Antonianus, or Antoniano, Having found it upon some cuts, in an edition of Faerno's fables, printed at Antwerp in \56j, v.ith a detUcation to Cardinal Borromeo, by Silvius Antoniano, he instantly con- ceived that he had discovered tlie name of the artist in that of the author of the dedication. The fact is, that Antoniano was no engraver, but a professor of belles lettres at Rome, after- wards secretary to Pope Pius V, and at length a Cardinal. His dedication had aheady appeared in the first edition of these fables in 1664, whicii has a different set of cuts engraved on copper. Another of Papillon's blunders is equally curious. He had seen an edition of the Emblems of Sambucus with cuts, on which the same mark occurs. In this book is a fine portrait of the author, with his dog, under whom is the word BOMliO, which Pa- pillon gravely informs us is the name of the engraver, and again refers to it on anotlier cut of one of the Emblems under a dog also. Had he read the verses belonging to this particular Emblem, he would have immediately seen that it was nothing more than the dog's name, as Sambucus himself declares, w bilst he pays a laudable tribute to the attachment of the faithful com. panion of his travels. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 25 at Antwerp, where this artist worked^ entitled, " Doodt vermaskert, or Death masked," accom- panied with eighteen cuts of the Dance of Death, which in the title page are ascribed to Holbein. They are all, except three, impressions from the identical blocks of Ihe beautiful and original cuts of this subject; but the above-mentioned artist has had the effrontery to put his mark, together with the figure of a graving tool or knife, upon several of them. It is, however, possible that he might have repaired them, as some of the smaller lines, which in former impressions seem to have been injured, are here much stronger. It might be tedious to describe all the imita- tions of the Dance of Death which have appeared at different times, as they are exceedingly nume- rous; but it would be unpardonable not to notice an alphabet of initial letters with this subject, which for humour, and excellence of design, are even superior to the celebrated one; and with re- spect to execution, especially when their minute- ness is considered, being less than an inch square, absolutely wonderful. Their composition is en- tirely different from that of any of the others, and one of them is extremely indecent. They appear to have been done at Basil ; for in the public library there is preserved a sheet, whereon arc printed three alphabets, viz. the one above-men- tioned, another of boys at play, and the third, a dance of peasants, &c. The designs of some of the last are the same as those in a similar Dance 26 THE DANCE OF DEATH. by Holbein^ formerly painted on a house at Basil, and of which some drawings are still preserved ; and it is therefore not improbable that he also designed the Dance of Death for these initials. They have apparently been struck oft' as proofs or patterns for some bookseller*^ and at the bottom of the sheet is the mark EL with the words "Hans Liitzelburger Formschneider, (/. e. block-cut- ter), in Basel." In this manner has been pre- served the name of a most exquisite artist, whom, from the similarity of style and subject, there is every reason to suppose the person who executed the fine cuts of the first Dance of Death. As he worked after the designs of Holbein, it is also probable that the painter might have invented some of the seventeen subjects which appeared in continuation of the original work, and that Liit- zelburger also cut them for the subsequent edi- tions. From the extreme delicacy with which the initials with the Dance of Death are executed, there is reason to suppose that they were not cut upon blocks of w ood, but of metal, as was probably the larger work of the same subject ; and in support of this conjecture it may be ob- served, that blocks of this kind are still preserved in the cabinets of the curious. * They were actually used by Cratander, a printer at Basil; and other initial letters, with Dances of Death, are to be seen in books printed at Zurich, Strasburg, and Vienna, in the six- teenth century. All the alphabets are in the possession of the compiler of thb essay, but they have not the monogram. TBE DANCE OF DEATH. 27 In 1780, Chretien de Mechcl, a well-known artist and printseller at Basils published forty- five engravings of a Death's Dance, as part of the works of Holbein, of which he intends to give a scries. IMr. Coxe, in his travels, has given some account of this work, and informs us that they are done after some small drawings by Hol- bein, sketched with a pen, and slightly shaded with Indian ink ; that these drawings were pur- chased by Mr. Flcichman, of Strasburg, at Cro- zat's sale at Paris, and are now in the collection of Prince Gallitzin, Minister from the Empress of Russia to the court of Vienna, at which last place he had frequent opportunities of seeing and admiring them. He further adds, that Hollar copied these drawings, an opinion which will admit of some doubt. Mons. De Mechel's re- mark, that from the dresses and character of several of the figures, it is probable the drawings were sketched in England, as well as Mr. Coxe's conjecture that they were in the Arundelian col- lection, will appear but slightly founded to any one conversant in the dresses of the French and German nations at that period, to which they bear at least an equal resemblance: again, one of the cuts represents a King sitting at table under a canopy, powdered with Fleurs de lis, whose figure has a remarkable affinity to the portraits of Francis I. If these drawings were copied from the celebrated woodca cuts, they must have 28 THE DANCE OF DEATH. bceu done after the year 1547;, as eiglit of llieiii did not appear till that time. But it has entirely escaped the knowledge of all the biographers of Holbein, that he painted a Dance of Death in fresco, upon the walls of the palace of Whitehall, which was consumed by fire in 1G97. This curious fact is ascertained from two sets of nineteen \ery indifferent etchings from the wood^jn cuts, by one Nieuhoff; they were never published, but copies of them pre- sented to the artist's friends, with manuscript de- dications in the Dutch language, in which he speaks of the above-mentioned paintings at While- hall. The book has the following title engraved in a border : " Imagines Mortis, or the Dead Dance of Hans Holbeyn, Painter of King Henry the Vlllth." The author, in one of these de- dications, addressed to the Right Honourable William Benting, informs him, that " he had met with the scarce little work of H. Holbeyn in wood, which he had himself painted as large as life in fresco, on the walls of Whitehall ; that he had followed the original as nearly as possible, and had presumed to lay his copy before him as being born in the same palace ; that he consi- dered the partiality which every one has for the place of his nativity, and that therefore an ac- count of what was curious and remarkable therein, and of what was then no more, as being destroyed by a fatal fire, must of course prove acceptable, particularly as there were hardly any more re- THE DANCE OF DEATH. 29 mains of the palace Jeft than liis own dwelling." He then states, that the design of the painter re- sembled that of the founder of the Greek mo- narchy, who ordered these words to be written, to remind him of his mortality : " Remember, Philip, that thou art a man!" and proceeds to describe in a very quaint manner the different sub- jects of his work. The dedication to the other copy is nearly in similar wordsj^and addressed to Mvnheer HeymanSi who appears, in consideration of his singular merits, to ha\e had a dwelling as- signed him ill the palace at Whitehall. From the hand-w riting and Dutch names in this work, it is evidently of the time of William III, but of the artist no memorial is preserved ; however, the importance of the fact which he has recorded, will render him a valuable personage in the opi- nion of the lovers of the arts. After what has been said then, it is to be hoped that no additional evidence will be requisite to shew that Holbein did not invent the subjects, nor execute the cuts belonging to the Dance of Death, which is usually ascribed to him; that he painted it, however, and most assuredly more than once, seems to be beyond the possibility of doubt. It only remains to give some account of the prints which are the immediate object of this pub- lication, and to which it is hoped the preceding introduction will not have appeared uninteresting. It has been commonly supposed that Hollar copied these prints from the original cuts ; but Mr, 30 THE DANCE OF DEATH. Coxe* thinks be followed the drawings engraved by De Mecbel, which he imagines to have been in the Arundelian collection. Both these opi- nions seem erroneous ; for many of Hollar's prints are materially different, as well from the cuts as the drawings ; and are, with two or three excep- tions, very close copies of the cuts already men- tioned to have been first published in J 555, with the mark ofj^ f . He must therefore have either had before him both the sets of wooden cuts, or have copied the paintings at Whitehall ; for his acknowledged fidelity would have hardly suffered him to depart from his originals, whatever they were, and as they now remain, they are not cor- rect copies of any single existing model. Hollar's prints were first published in 1651J, with borders designed by Abraham a Diepenbeke, and afterwards without the borders. In this latter impression the letters e/B. i. occur upon everyprint, and are intended for " Holbein invenit," as ap- * Travels in Swisserland. f It is not a little reiuarkable, that almost tlie same variations from the original cuts, are to be found in those of the edition of 1555, in De Mechel's prints, and in Hollar's etchings; a cir- cumstance which renders it probable that these last were all co- pied from the same originals, which might have been the work of Holbein, to whom the variations may be likewise attributed. J In |6S2 there appeared engraved copies of the Dance of Death, in a work entitled " Theatrum mortis humanae," by J. Weichard. These engravings are within borders of fruit, flowers, and animals, which are executed with an uncommon otw. dptimi iiM) , ■moriens eniin tn., ic GiAcI_enl&s in 1 Ii-wcco.' i-nduetixr tnosfore. Et quiefc 70 -T . . - - -v - - ■ - >- r BjMt^^E- ~%^i ■fch'^^^MTiS li^l ife' -^ ""^ l^^E Us: 1-^ ^1^ ' -i. i ^^/i J v^^^^Ufi i^"-^ Jj^^^^^^j^^nflJ ^^^^^P ^E^^^^H ^^' ^"^^^^"gs^'^ 'r ovtc rtreous. ^rjr m^ t,-«Lii;ta«i. i. iiL itl'uIuKuLi.iu? ituitLtiar i'- . .lecvpu-tiii'. rr-vct t- s- Lc/tiittu ^ poucii tcj teB.pbf.u'r iucciu ^V i,iu-i"ia tmebnu poneti. b>? aia.UTira. tn duicc V filler uiJ^n-vncm. ^/ti -^ -M-oxliie ciwd^te ipiita rTTTrr-TT 5\,° ,v ir Tola Moi-y Lep^t\xbi± ^^ucuni xnhoxas cUey flto*. & in. "rJtmchj actini^ma, cie£cciiaixt. J./ itti congvegst thfifaarro* Ixia^ixa, roe- taint . xAxmfZ excor.* efi . 5» itxtpxiajjet-.'. onine.> <]ui l.il or.ifu-i ' tttaio.' & qit* pariffi. cttiits etmtdb. Coxnat m cii.rnxJ\to jcicli laoHxinij £i\'ni-LnprCu«n.JPta.v l-ucretur, auiaaiat aittetji Itn-nf trftnetv 20 eplctur nmlhj taiTeryj qvn. qujin. f loif DESCRIPTIONS CUTS flollar's Bance of ®eat|). THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE I.~THE FRONTISPIECE. It has been supposed by Papillon^ without the least authority, or even probability, that the two figures represent the persons for whom Hol- bein painted this work. It has been already shewn that Holbein did not design this plate. It is altogether emblematical, and appears to be an heraldical representation of mortality, viz. a tat- tered shield, surmounted with a death's head; the crest, an hour-glass between two arms of a skele- ton, holding part of a skull. The two figures are probably intended for supporters, and repre- sent the dress of the Swiss Nobility of the six- teenth century. The '' MORTALIVM NO- BILITAS" was added by Hollar, and is a very concise and admirable explanation of the subject. d2 36 THE DANCE OF DEATIF. PLATE II.— 8IN. Bc.cause ibou hast barkened unto the voice of tliy wi(e, and liast eaten of the free, of wliich I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it : cursed is the groimd for tliv sake, &c. Gen. iii. 17, Holbein has begun the scenes of life by that which had such influence on all the rest. The iVFolher of the human race holds in her right hand^ the fatal apple, which she has just received from the serpent with a young man's head ; and Adam, at the same time, is plucking another, enticed by the solicitations of the too credulous Eve, who shews him the one she has received. PLANCHE II.— LE PECHE. Holbein a commence ces scenes de la vie par celit^ qui eut tant d'influence sur toutes les autres. La Mere du genre humain, tient dans sa rajiin droite, la pomme fa tale qu'elle vient de recevoir du serpent a tete de jeune homrae, & Adam en cucille en memc tems une autre, excit6 par les solliritations de la trop crcdule Eve, qui lui montre celie qu'elle a re^ue. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 37 PLATE m.— PUNISHMENT. Theretore the Lord God sent iiim forth from the garden of Eden, to till the iiround from whence he was taken. Gkn. iii. 23. Our first Parents, driven eut by the Angel, are flying from the terrestrial Paradise^ preceded by Deaths who is playing on the fiddle, and shews by dancing, the joy he feels for his triumph. PLANCHE in.— LA PUNITION. Nos premiers Parens chasses par I'Ange, s'enfuyent du Paradis terrestre precedes de la Mort, qui joue de la guitare^ & demontre en dansant la joie qu'elle ressent de son triomphe. 38 THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE IV.— CONDEMNATION TO LABOUR. Cursed is ilie earth for thy sake; in sorrow slialt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Gen. iii. 17. HoLBEiNj to mark at once the species of labour which is the lot of man, and that which falls to the share of the woman, represents Adam employed in rooting up a tree, along with Death, who helps him with all his might; and at a little distance Eve suckling her child, and holding a distaff. PLANCHE IV.— LA CONDEMNATION AU TRAVAIL. Holbein, pour marquer en meme terns le genre de travail qui est lepartage de I'homme, & celui qui est le partage de la ferame, represente Adam occupe a dcraciner un arbre, avec la Mort qui I'aide detoutes ses forces; & un pcu plus loin. Eve allaitant son enfant & tenant une quenouille. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 99 PLATE v.— THE POPE CROWNING AN EMPEROR. To bind his Princes at liis pleasure, aod teach his Senators wisdom. Psalm cv, 22. A CARDINAL and three bishops are assisting at the ceremony' : Death is there also under the figure of two skeletons^ one of which is dressed in cardinal's robes, the other embraces the Holy Father, with the right hand, and is leaning on a crutch with the left. PLANCHE v.— LE PAPE COURONNANT UN EMPEREUR. Un cardinal & trois eveques assistant a cette ceremonie : la Mort s'y trouve aussi sous la figure de deux squelettes, dont I'un est revetu des habits de cardinal ; I'autre embrasse le St. Pere de la main droite, et s'appuie de la gauche sur une bequille. 40 THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE VI.— THE EMPEROR. Set thine house in order: for tliou shalt die, and not live. Is.viAii, xxxviii. 1. Seated on a throne, and holding in his hand the sword of state, he is attentively listening to an advocate pleading in a soothing tone, agaiifst an unfortunate peasant, who trembling waits, in the most suppliant posture, the decree that is to determine his fate. Death at this moment displays all his power ; he proudly takes possession of the bottom of the throne, and is carelessly leaning his arm on the Monarch's crown. The angry aspect with which the Emperor views the advocate and his two clients, who are seen standing with their heads uncovered, is a happy presage for the poor oppressed peasant. PLANCHE VI.— L'EMPEREUR. Assis sur son trone, & tenant dans sa main le glaive de I'empire, il ecoute attentivement un avocat qui plaide d'un ton doucereux contre un raalheureux paysan, tandis que celui-el attend en tremblant, & dans la posture la plus suppliante, I'arret qui doit decider de son sort. La Mort developpe en ce moment toute sa puissance; elle occupe fierement la fond du trone, & appuie non- chalemment son bras sur la couronne du Monarque. L'air irrite avec lequel le Chef de I'Empire re- garde I'avocat & ses deux cliens qu'on voit, la tete decouverte, a cOte de leur defenseur, est d'un lieureux presage pour Ic pauvre opprirae. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 41 PLATE VII.— THE EMPRESS. Ami all the inhnbitants of tlie Earth are reputt'd as notliuig : and he doeth according to liis will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the Earth. Daniel, iv. 35. In the midst of a pompous march, in the court of a great palace. Deaths who seems here to do the office of gentleman-usher, leads this Princess to the brink of a grave, and shews her the bounds within which all her grandeur is to be confined. PLANCHE Vn.— LTMPERATRICE. Au milieu d'une marche pompeuse, dans la cour d'un vaste palais, la Mort qui paroit faire ici I'office d'ecuyer, amene cette Princesse jusqu'au bord d'une fosse sepulcrale, pour lui faire voir le terrae auquel ses grandeurs viendront aboutir. 42 THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE VIIl.— THE QUEEN. Rise up, ye women that are at ease ; bear my voice, ye careless daugh- ters; give ear unto ray speech. Daniel, xxxii. 9. Death, arrayed ia the habits of folly, drags away violently this young Princess, just as she is conaing out of her palace to enjoy the pleasure of walking. AVith terror painted in her counte- nance, she is making the air resound with mourn- ful cries ; the maid of honour, who accompanies her, agitated with the most violent despair, is imploring the aid of Heaven, while the buffoon is making vain efforts to defend her against Death, w ho holds aloft his glass, to shew that the fatal hour is come. PLANCHE VIIL— LA REINE. La Mort rev^tue des habits de la folic, cn- traine avec violence cette jeune Princesse, au moment qu'elle sort de son palais pour jouir du plaisir de la promenade ; la terreur peinte sur le visage elle fait retentir les airs de ses cris dou- loureux ; la dame d'honneur qui I'accompagne, agitee da plus violent desespoir, implore Ic secours du Ciel, tandis que le bouffon de la Reine fait de vains efforts pour la defendre contre la Mort, qui tient son sable eleve pour faire voir que I'heure fatale est arrivee. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 43 PLATE IX.— THE CARDINAL. Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him. Isaiah, v. 23. A MESSENGER has just presented to him, on his kneesj the bull that constitutes him a cardinal. Death seizes this moment to make his appearance, and seems to want to turn his hat upon his head. The messenger is holding in his right hand a tin box, hung by a strap, in which he had, no doubt, carried the bull, which the new-made cardinal holds in his right hand with the seals appended to it. PLANCHE IX.— LE CARDINAL. Un messager vicnt de lui remcttre, en faisant une genuflexion, la bulle qui le fait cardinal. La Mort saisit ce moment pour paroitre, et semble vouloir lui faire tourner son chapeau sur la tete. Le messager tient de la main droite une boite de fer-blanc, pendue a une courroie, et dans laquelle il avoitsans doule appoite la bulle, que le cardi- nal nouvellement cree tient a la main droite avec les sceaux y affixes. 44 THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE X.— THE ELECTOR. The King shall mourn, and the Prince shall be clothed with desolation, and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled. EzEKir.L, vii.27. This prince, as he is coming out of hi'^ palace with his courtiers, is accosted by a poor woman, who implores his help for herself and the infant she holds by the hand ; but he, insensible to the distresses of the widow and orphan, refuses to listen, and is turning aside with a disdainful air to his courtiers. Death at this instant appears ; and his severe aspect announces, that he is just about to make him repent his hard-heartedness. PLANCHE X.— L'ELECTEUR. Ce prince sortant de sonpalais avec ses cour- tisans, est abord^ par une pauvre femme qui im- plore son secours, pour elle & pour I'enfant qu'elle tient par la main ; mais insensible aux besoins de la veuve & de I'orphelin, il refuse de I'ecouter, & se tourne d*un air d^daigneux du cote de ses cour- tisans. La Mort paroit dans cet instant, & son air severe annonce qu'elle va le faire repentir dc la durete. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 4S PLATE XI.— THE BISHOP. will smite the shepherd, nnd the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Matt. xxvi. 51. With an air of tranquillity and resignation^ this worthy Pastor follows Death, who is leading him away laughing and dancing, whilst some shep- herds, forgetting their flocks, are wandering here and there through the country, in despair for the loss of their chief. The sun, now ready to set, is just about to leave in darkness the ill-fated flocks, who, having no longer a conductor, will soon become the prey of wolves and other raven- ous animals. PLANCHE XL— L'EVEQUE. D'uN air de tranquillite & de resignation ce bon Pasteur suit la Mort, qui I'emmenc en riant et en dansant, tandis que quelques bergers, ou- bliant leur troupeau, errent 9a & la dans la cani- pagne, dese.speres de la perte de leur chef. Le soieil pret a se coucher, va laisser dans les tene- bres ce malheureux troupeau, qui n'ayant plus de conducteur, sera bientot la proie du loup & des autres betes feroces. 46 THE DANCE OF DEATH, PL.\TE XH.— THE COUNT. Rebuke the company of spearmen ; scatter thou the people that de- light in war. Psalm Ixviii. 30. Death here adds to his usual employment that of avenger of oppressed vassals. He is throv^- ing with violence at the head of this Lord, his coat of arms^ the dear object of his pride^ under the weight of which he is ready to make him fall. He appears trampling under foot a flaiU to mark his inhumanity to labourers, a class of society so necessary and respectable. On the ground also are to be seen the remains of the helmet which formed the crest of his arms, with the other orna- ments that decorated them. PLANCHE XII.— LE COMTE. La Mort ajoute ici a I'exercice de son emploi accoutume celui de vengeur de vassaux opprimes; elle jette avec violence a la tete de ce Seigneur ses armoiries, I'objet cheri de son orgueil, sous le poids desquelles elle va le faire perir. On le voit fouler a ses pieds un fleau, pour designer son in- humanite envers les laboureurs, cette classe de la societe si necessaire & si respectable; on pent encore remarquer a terre, les debris du casque dont ses armoiries etoient surraontees avec d'au- Ires ornemens qui les decoroient. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 47 PLATE XIII.— THE ABBE. His own iuiquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden by tlie cords of his sins. Prov. iv. 22. Death, not contented with stripping this fat Prelate of his crosier, which he is carrying in tri- umph on his shoulder, and his mitre, with which be is dressing himself, is dragging him away without pity. He raises his hreviarywith one hand, and with the other is making some Tain efforts to push him off. PLANCHE XIII.— L' ABBE. La Mort, non contente d'avoir arrache a ce gros Prelatsa crosse, qu'elleporte en triomphe sur son epaulcj & sa mitre, dont elle s'est affublee, le tire encore impitoyablement apres elle; il €leve d*une main son br^viaire, & fait de I'autre de vains efforts pour la repousser. iS THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE XIV.— THE ABBESS. Wherefore I praised tlic dead, which are already dead, more than tlit living, wliich are yci alive. Eccleb. iv. 2. Death ludicrously hooded with several flow- ing plumeS;, and robed in a kind of gown, carries out of her convent an Abbess^ whom he is dragging with all his might by her scapulary. The re- verend Mother with regret is leaving life and the honours she enjoys ; and expresses, by the alte- ration of her features and by her cries, the fright that Death has produced in her soul. Behind her, under the gate of the convent, appears a young Nun, strangely agitated with terror and grief. PLANCHE XIV.— L'ABBESSE. La Mort ridiculement coiflfee de diverses plumes flottantes, & vetue d'une espece deraante, emmene hors de son couvent une Abbesse qu'elle tire de toutes ses forces par son scapulaire. La rev^- rendissime Mere quitte a regret la vie & les hon- neurs dont elle jouit, & exprime par Paltdration de ses traits & par ses cris, Teffroi que la Mort a jete dans son ame. On voit derriere elle, sous la porte de I'abbaye, une jeune Nonne, vivement agitee par la crainte & par la douleur. THE DANCE OF DEATH. ^49 PLATE XV.— THE FRIAR PROVISOR. And lie saved tliem from the Iiand of him that liated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. Psalm cvi. 10. As lie is just stepping into his convent, with his Christmas-box and wallet. Death stops him at the door ; and deaf to his cries, as well as re- gardless of the fright he throws him into, drags him with all his might by the cloak, and renders all the good Friar's attempts to disengage himself ineffectual. PL-\NCHE XV.— LE FRERE QUETEUR. Pret a rentrerdans son couvent avec sa tire- lire & sa besace, la Mort I'arrete a la porte, & toute ausai sourde a ses cris, qu'insensible a I'ef- froi qu'elle lui cause, elle le tire de toutes ses forces parson capuchon, & rend impuissans les efforts du bon Frerc pour se derober de ses mains. 50 THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE XVI.— THE CANONESS. Enter not into the path of llie wicked, and go not into the way of e»il men. Pkov. iv. 14. There appears in this young and beautiful reclusCj a striking mixture of gallantry and de- votion. On her knees before a little altar, witli her rosary in her hand, she is amorously listening to the songs which a young man, seated on a bed, addresses to her, accompanying thcui with his lute. Death comes to put out the tapers burning on the altar, and to change into sadness the plea- sures of this conversation. PLANCHE XVI.— LA CHANOINESSE. L'ON voit dans cette jeune & belle recluse un melange frappant de galanterie & de devotion. Agenouillee devant un petit autcl, sou rosaire a la main, ellc ecoute amoureusement les chanson? qu'un jeune homme, assis sur son lit, lui addresse en les accompagnant de son luth. La Mort vient €teindre les cierges allumes sur I'autel, & changer en amertume les douceurs de ce t^te-a-tete. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 61 PLATE XVII.— THE PREACHER. Woe unto tliem tliat call evil good, and good evil ; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness j that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter ! Isaiah, v. 20. As he is preaching to his congregation. Death, who is behind him with a stole about his neck, holds over his head the bone of a dead body, and by shewing it to the assembly, preaches to thera, undoubtedly, the most eloquent of all ser- mons. PLANCHE XVII.— LE PREDICATEUR. Tandis qu'il preche son auditoire, la Mort qui est derriere lui, une etole au cou, eleve par- dessus sa tete un os de mort, & en la montrant a I'assemblce lui fait sans doute le plus eloquent de tons les sermons. Eg LIBRARY UWIVBRSJTY OF llil 53 THE DANCE OF DEATIL PLATE XVIII.— THE PHYSICIAN. Pliysician, lieal thyself. LuKr, iv. '25. Death is leading to him a sick old maiij whose urine he is presenting to Iiini in a phial, and appears saying, in a jeering raai.ner. Dost thou think that thou art able to save a man whom I have already in my power ? PLANCHE XVIII.— LE MEDECIN. La Mort lui amene un vieillard raaladc dont elle lui presente I'urinc dans une phiole^ & paroit lui dire d'un air moqueur; Crois-tu pouvoir sauver un liomme que je tieus deja en ma puis- sance ? THE DANCE OF DEATH. 53 PLATE XIX.— THE SWISS SOLDIER. But when a stronger than lie sluill come upon liim, and overcome him, he taketh from him ail his armour wherein he trusted, and di- videth the spoils. Luke, xi. 22, On a field of battle, covered with dead car- casses. Deaths armed v.ith a buckler and a huge dart, attacks this warrior, in the bosom of victory, escaped alone from the carnage of the day, and is giving him some terrible blows. It is in vain that this brave Soldier, whose courage seems in- vincible, is obstinately attcm}3ting to dispute the victory with an irresistible adversary. In the back ground appears another Death, running, and beat- ing on a drum, w ho is followed by several soldiers. PLANCHE XIX.— LE SOLD AT SUISSE. SuR un champ de bataillejonchc decadavres^ la Mort armee d'un bouclier & d'un grand jave- lot, attaque dans le sein de lavictoire ce guerrier echappe seul au carnage, & lui porte des coups terribles. C'est en vain que ce brave Soldat dont la valeur sembloit indoraptable, s'acharne a dis- puter la victoire a un adversaire auquel rien ne sauroit r^sister. Dans le lointain on apper9oit une autre Mort qui bat du tambour en courant, & qui est suivie de quelques soldals. 54 THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE XX.— THE ADVOCAT*. A prudent man foreseetL the c\-il, and hideth liimself; but the simple pass, on, and are punished. Puov. xxii. o. The example of the Judge seems to autho- rize the Advocate to get himself well paid for his prevarication, and that even in the presence of his poor client;, whose wretched condition would raise compassion in any breast less obdurate than that of the lawyer. But Death will avenge the oppressed; he is pouring into the hands of the Advocate money in abundance, of which he will have little use, for he is, at the same instant, shewing him, with an air of insult, his sand run out. PLANCHE XX.— L'AVOCAT. L'lcxEMPLE du Jugesemble autoriser I'Avo- cat a se faire payer cherement ses prevarications, & cela meme en presence de son pauvre client qui se tient dans un certain eloignement, & dont I'ctat miserable fcroit pitie a une arae moins dure que celle de I'homme de loi. Mais la Mort vengera I'opprim^; elle verse abondammentdans les mains de I'Avocat de I'argent dont il ne profitera guere, car elle lui montre en meme temsd'uu air moqucur, son sable ecoule. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 65 PLATE XXI.—THE NEW-MARRIED PAIR. Where thou diest, will I die, Ruth, i, 17. In the first transports of an happy union, this tender couple appear so wholly taken up with each other, and so inebriated with their mutual happiness, that they neither see nor hear. Death, who is marching: before them, beating furiously on a little drum, is soon to give a cruel interrup- tion to their enjoyments. PLANCHE XXI.—LES NOUVEAUX MARIES. Dans les premiers transports d'une douce union, ces deux tendres epoux paroissent telle- raent occupes I'un de I'autre, ils sont si enivres de leur bonheur mutuel, qu'ils ne voient ni n'enten- dent la Mort qui marche devant eux, en frappant vigoureuseraent sur un petit tambour, & qui va leur donner bientot un cruel trouble-fete. 56 THE DANCJ: OF DEATH. PLiVTE XXII.— THE COUNTESS. ^Vhat! shall we receive good at thu hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ? Job, ii. 10. She is wholly taken up with the care of her dress, and is receiving with eagerness, from the hands of one of her maids, a very rich robe with a gold chain. Death comes to derange her toilet, and lius already, without being perceived, slipped round her neck a collar made of small bones. PLANCHE XXIL— LA COMTESSE. Elle n'est occupee que du soin de sa parure, & re9oit avec empressement, des mains d'une de ses femmes, un habillement trcs-riche avec une chaine d'or. La Mort vient troubler sa toilette, & lui adeja passe autour du cou, sans qu'elles'en soit encore aper9ue, un collier fait de petits os de mort. THE DANCE OF DE AT[I. 67 PLATE XXII l— THE MERCHANT. Tlie getting of treasures by a lying tongue is :i vanity tossed to and fro of them that secketh death. Prov. xxi. 6. Escaped from the dangers of the sea, and safely arrived in port, this rich Merchant be- lieves himself now in perfect safety; but he is mistaken. Employed in counting his money, ex- amining hi? goods, and treating about their dis- posal, a bad customer. Death himself, comes up, and it is his person only that he wants to bargain for. PLANCHE XXIIL— LE MARCHAND. EcHAPPE aux perils de la mer, arrivd heu- reuseraent au port, ce riche Marchand se croit en pleine securite ; il se trompe. Occupe a compter son argent, a examiner ses marchandises & a traiter de leur vente, un mauvais chaland, la Mort elle-merae, arrive, & ce n'est que de sa personne qu'elle veut faire emplette. 58 THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE XXIV.— THE HAWKER. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt, xi, 28. Bending under the weight of his load, he is advancing, with a quick pace, to the neighbour- ing town, comforting hirai-elf with thinking on the gain he is to make there; but Death, in the form of two skeletons, is come to put a sudden end to his labours and his hopes. One of the skeletons is dragging him forcibly hy the arm, while the other behind him is plajing on a marine trumpet. It is in vain that the poor Hawker points with his finger to the place where his business calls him; this disagreeable company appear desirous of making him take another road. PLANCHE XXIV.— LE COLPORTEUR. CouiiBE sous le poids de sa charge, il avance a grands pas vers le lieu voisin, & trouve du sou- lagenicnt en revant au gain qu'il pourroit y faire ; mais la Mort, sous la figure de deux squelettes, est venue subitement mettre fin a ses peines & a ses esperances. L' un des squelettes le tire avec force par le bras, tandis que Tautre joue derriere lui de la trompette marine. C'est en vain que le pauvre Colporteur montre des doigts I'endroit ou ses afifaires I'appellent, cette facheuse compagnie paroit vouloir lui faire prendre une autre route. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 59 PLATE XXV.— THE MISER. Tliou fool, tliis night sliall thy soul be required of thee ; then whose shall tliobe things be, which thou hast provided? Luke, xi. 2. The character of the Miser is very forcibly expressed in this sketch. Shut up in a vaults which receives the light only through a wicket, secured with a double grate of thick iron bars, he is entirely taken up with his beloved treasure, a considerable part whereof Death is snatching up before his eyes. This loss excites in him all the symptoms of the most violent desperation, and it plainly appears that his gold is an hundred times dearer to his heart than his life. PLANCHE XXV.— L'AVARE. Le caractere de I'Avare est rendu dans ce dessein avec beaucoup d'energie. Renferme dans un caveau qui ne rc^oit du jour que par une lu- carne garnie d'une double grille d'epais barreaux de fer, il n'est occupe que de son cher tresor, dont la Mort lui enleve a ses yeux une portion tres-con- siderable. Cette perte excite en lui tons les symp- tomes du plus violent desespoir, & Ton voit bien que son or lui tient cent fois plus a coeur que la vie. <)0 THE DANCE OF DEATFI. PLATE XXVI.— THE WAGGONER. But wlien they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he wub found of them. 2 Chuon. XV. 4. We see Death here venting his capricious fury on a cart of wine that a poor Waggoner is conducting. Without doubt, the man himself Nvill soon come, in his turn, to be the sport of his caprice ; and the same cause that has now pro- d need J will ere long effectually finish his despair. PLANCHE XXVI.— LE VOITURIER. On voit ici la Mort cxercer ses bizarres fu- reurs sur un char de Tin que conduit un pauvre Voiturier. Sans doute que lui-raeme va devenir a son tour le jouet de ses caprices, & que la meme cause qui vient d'occasionner son desespoir ne tar- dera pas a le terminer. THE DANCE OF DEATH. Gl PLATE XXVH.— THE GAMESTERS. For what is u man protittd, if lie shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his souli* Matt. xvi. 26. The Devil and Death are disputing which of them shall cany off the losing* Gamester. It is a contest^ if we may say so, frightful as well as ludicrouSj so much the more so^ that the se- cond Gamester, interesting himself in the fate of the first, is addressing fervent prayers to the Devil on his behalf; but the third is doing still better, taking tlie advantage of this moment of trouble and terror, to gather in the money that is lying on the table. PLANCHE XXVII.— LES JOUEURS. Le Diable & la Mort se disputent qui des deux emportera le Joueur qui a perdu. C'est un combat, s'il est permis de le dire, aussi efFroyable que comique, d'autant plus que le second Joueur, s'interessant au sort du premier, addresse de fer- ventes prieres au Diable en sa faveur ; mais le troisierae fait encore mieux, & profite de ce mo- ment de trouble &d'efFroi, pour ramasser I'ar- gent qui se trouve sur la table. y ee THE DANCE OF DEATH. PLATE XXVni.— THE OLD MAN. My breath is corrupt, ray days are extinct, the graves are ready tor nie. Job, xvii. 1. Here we see Death leading away, playing on a psaltery, an Old Man to the brink of the graven bent under the load of ycars^ and verging to the last degree of frailty. The Old Man allows him- self to be carried off, with that calmness and tran- quillity, which are the effects of wisdom, and the fruits of a good conscience. PLANCHE XXVHL— LE VIEILLARD. L'oN voit ici la Mort qui conduit sur le bord de sa fosse, en jouant du psalterion, un Vieillard courbe sous le poids des annees, & parvenu au dernier degr6 de Ja caducite, Le Vieillard se laisse emmener avec cc calme & cette tranquillite qui sont I'apanage de la sagesse, & les fruits d'une bonne conscience. THE DANCE OF DEATH. 63 PLATE XXIX.— THE OLD WOJSLVN. Dentil is better than a bitter life, or continual sickness. ECCLES. XXX. 17. The grim countenance of this good old Dame docs not indicate the same resignation as appears in the former subject. Wholly occupied in mumbling her rosary, she pays no attention to the sound of a dulcimer, on which one of her conductors is playing. The other skeleton, im- patient of the slowness of the Old Woman's march, is employing menaces and blows to make her ad- vance. PLANCHE XXIX.— LA VIEILLE. Le visage rechigne de cette bonne Vieille n'annonce pas la meme resignation que dans le sujet precedent. Toute occupee a marmotterson rosaire, elle ne prete aucune attention au son du timpanon dont joue I'une de ses conductrices. L'autre squelette, impatient de la lenteur que la bonne \ ieille met dans sa marche, emploie les me- naces & les coups pour la faire avancer. 64 THE DANCE OF DE/VTII. PLATE XXX.— THE CHILD. Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He Cometh forth hke a flower, and is cut down : he fleetli also as a shadow, and continueth not. Job, xiv. 1. If under the roof of poverty tliere is any com- fort, it is in having children, by whom we may hope one day to be solaced. This is the case with this poor widow ; but Death is of a different opi- nion, and is come to carry off her youngest Child, unmoved by her prayers and lamentations. PLANCHE XXX.— L'ENFANT. Si sous le toit de la pauvrete il y a quelque consolation, c'est d'avoir des enfans dont on peut esperer d'etre un jour soulage. C'est le cas de cette pauvre veuve, mais la Mort n'est point de cet avisj & vient de lui enlever le plus petit sans se laisser flechir, ni par ses prieres ni par ses la- mentations. END OF THE DANCE OF DEATH. THE Battce of Mu^tt, y ^ 14 i^U^Ui V ^ THE DANCE OF MACABER. John LYDGATE, a monk of the Benedic- tine Abbey of Bury in Suffolk, jflourished in the reign of Henry VI. He was an uncommon orna- ment of his profession, his genius being so lively, and his accomplishments so numerous, that it is hardly probable the holy father St. Benedict would have acknowledged him for a genuine dis- cij)le. After a short education at Oxford, he travelled into France and Italy, and returned a complete master of the language and the litera- ture of both countries. He chiefly studied the Italian and French poets, particularly Dante, Boccaccio, and Alain Chartier ; and became so distinguished a proficient in polite learning, that he opened a school in his monastery for teaching the sons of the nobility the arts of versification, and the elegancies of composition. Yet although philology was his object, he was not unfamiliar with the fashionable philosophy ; he was not only a poet and a rhetorician, but a geometrician, an astronomer, a theologist, and a disputant. He made considerable addition to those amplifications p2 68 THE DANCE OF MACABER. of our language, in which Chaucer, Gower, and Occlcve led the way, and is the first of our writers whose style is clothed with that perspi- cuity in which the English phraseology appears at this day to an English reader. His muse was of universal access, and he was not only the poet of his monastery, but of the world in general. If a disguising was intended by the Company of Goldsmiths, a mask before his Majesty at Eltham, a Maygame for the Sheriffs and Aldermen of Lon^- don, a mumming before the Lord Mayor, a pro- cession of pageants from the creation, for the fes- tival of Corpus Christi, or a carrol for the coro- nation, Lydgate was consulted, and gave the poetry. Mr. Warton, from whose elegant History of English Poetry the above account of Lydgate is extracted, further informs us, that he translated Macabcr's Dance of Death from the French, at the request of the Chapter of St. Paul's, to be inscribed under the painting of that subject in their cloister ; but it appears from the verses themselves, that he undertook the translation at the instance of a French clerk. Lydgate's poem is neither a literal or complete translation of the French version from Macaber* : and this he himself confesses, " Out of the French I dioiigli it of intent " Not word by word, but following in substance." * This French translation has been erroneously given to Mi- chael Marot, who was not born at the time when it was first THE DANCE OF MACABER. 69 Again, the number of the characters in Ljd- gate is much less than in the French, being only thirtv-five, whilst the other contains seventy-six, and he has not only omitted several, but supplied their places with others; so that if these lines were inscribed under the painting at Saint Paul's, it must have differed materially from that at Saint Innocent's at Paris. Stowe, upon whose sole authority all the information concerning this painting depends, says, that on the north side of Saint Paul's church was a great cloister, environ- ing a plot of ground, of old time called Pardon Churclj-yard, whereof Thomas More, Dean of Saint Paul's, was either the first builder, or a great benefactor, and was buried there. About this cloister was artificially and richly painted the Dance of Machabray, a Dance of Death com- monly called the Dance of Paul's ; the like whereof was painted about St. Innocent's cloister at Paris. The metres or poetry of this Dance were translated out of the French into English, by John Lydgate, Monk of Bury. He adds, that this was done at the expence of Jenken Car- penter*, in the reign of Henry the Vlth, so that the poem and the painting appear to have been fmisbed about the same time. printed. See De Biire Bibliog. Instruct. No. 3109, and War- ton's Correct, and Add. to Vol. II. of Hist, of Engl. Poetry. * This Jenken Carpenter was town-clerk of London, 1430, and executor of Richard Whittingtoa. Weever's Funeral Monum p. 379. fo. edition. 70 THE DANCE OF MACABER. Ill tlie year 1549, on the tenth of April, the whole of this cloister, together with the Dance of Death, the tombs, and monuments, was begun to be pnlled down by command of the Duke of Somerset, so that nothing thereof was left but the bare plot of ground, which was afterwards con- verted into a garden for the petty Canons *. All the ancient Dances of Death, though evi- dently to be deduced from one original, differed very materially in the number and design of the characters. They uniformly appear to have been accompanied with Macaber's verses, or more pro- bably with imitations of them. • Stowe's Survey. FINIS. London: Printed by li.M'MilUn,? How Svrect, Corent Garden. > y V. Y-^ ^ ^ m