The Basler Dance of Death

31 January 2019

In 1773, 32 years before its destruction in 1805, the topographer Emanuel Büchel (1705-1775) painted and mentioned the Basler Totentanz image by image in an album.

Basel, Museum Kleines Klingental. Der Totentanz.

Johann Rudolf Feyerabend (1779-1814) painted the Totentanz in 1806. He based his paintings on this album.

Basel, Weberstrasse near the Klingentalkloster, wall painting on a house

(Source: F. Egger, Basler Totentanz, Basel 2009).

Emanuel Büchel, ganz oben “Tod mit Kaiser”, aus dem Klingentaler Wandmalereizyklus, Aquarell auf Papier. Kunstmuseum Basel/Martin P. Bühler, Kupferstichkabinett, Skb A 48 H. Foto: TES

Jean Tinguely, Mengele Totentanz, 1987. Tinguely Museum Basel