The Dance of Death, (Rosenwald Collection Reprint Series)

Rating:
Summary: affordable presentation of hard-to-find wood carvings
Review: Again, the thrifty publisher Dover supplies us with an affordable classic, this time in the art of woodcuts. Hans Holbein's macabre and morbid series, "The Dance of Death," gives us a chilling view into Europe during the time when its denizens, well, weren't really expected to make it too far into life.

This Dover edition, though not as thorough as the complete 1538 French series (now out of print), provides a faithful reproduction of Holbein's masterpiece, with the original textual accompaniment in Latin (with English). In these marvelous woodcuts, the viewer can easily sense the feeling of dread within the European community during a time that death came all too easily.

Of course, death is a theme from which we can never truly escape, so I suppose Holbein's art speaks to all the ages. Until we ourselves come to meet the Eternal Footman, we have Holbein's "Dance of Death" to give us a glimpse into what we may expect.

Rating:
Summary: excellent presentation of Holbein's Danse Macabre works
Review: The woodcuts are beautifully reproduced. Included are the verses that originally accompanied each woodcut. The text is provided both in the original Latin and in modern translation. The Danse Macabre was originally a visual artistic presentation, and this book is faithful to that performance. The explanatory text before the woodcuts begin is short and to the point. Dover allows the art to speak for itself, rather than 'interpreting' it for the viewer.