HAP Grieshaber and the Basel Dance of Death in Arlesheim
1 July 2026
The medieval Dance of Death was a familiar theme in Switzerland, southern Germany and France during the 14th and 15th centuries. Its emergence was influenced not only by the plague epidemics of the time but also by the orders of the Dominicans and Franciscans.
The Dance of Death combined three medieval motifs: the dance motif, based on the belief that the dead dance in the cemetery at night; the ‘vado mori’ motif, in which representatives of all classes lament their inevitable fate; and the legend of the three living and the three dead, in which three dead and three living meet and engage in a dialogue in which the dead have the final word: ‘…..What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you will become.’
The Basler Totentanz, Matthäus Merian (1593–1650), ‘Todten-Tanz, wie derselbe in der löblichen und weitberühmten Stadt Basel zu sehen ist”, around 1621. Collection: Historisches Museum Basel, inv. 1932.1162
Johann Rudolf Feyerabend (1779-1814), Basler Totentanz, Collection: Historisches Museum Basel
The Dance of Death was also widespread in Switzerland, featuring on the walls of cemeteries and churches. During the Reformation and in the centuries that followed, these depictions were removed. However, artists captured the originals on paper at the time, including in woodcuts. Thanks to these works, we are now well informed about the earlier Dances of Death.
Forum Würth Arlesheim, (Einschnitt I Ausdruck), 28 April 2026-2 May 2027
Contemporary artists, too, continue to draw inspiration from this theme. Helmut Andreas Paul Grieshaber, better known by his artist’s name HAP Grieshaber (1909–1981), even dedicated a separate series of woodcuts to the Dance of Death.
HAP Grieshaber, Basler Totentanz und Bücher aus Leipzig, 1964. Collection Würth, inv. 9564
He was born in Swabia, where the Dance of Death tradition existed in the 14th and 15th centuries, a tradition that may have influenced him.
HAP Grieshaber, Der Basler Totentanz, 1965, boek met 40 houtsneden. Collection Würth, inv. 9556
In any case, the Basel Dance of Death also represented a ‘homecoming’ for him, following the removal of the last Basel Dance of Death in 1805. However, the artist also addressed contemporary themes in his Dance of Death.
HAP Grieshaber was one of the best-known and, at the same time, an unconventional artist in the fields of woodcut, typography, printmaking and painting. He was not only innovative in his own right, but was also inspired by other artists, such as Carl Orff (1895–1982) and his Carmina Burana.
HAP Grieshaber, Carl Orff, Carmina Burana, 1965. Collection Würth, inv. 2110
HAP Grieshaber, Carmina Burana, 1965. Collection Würth, inv. 2110
In his works, he paid tribute to artists such as Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840), Marc Chagall (1887–1985) and Paul Cézanne (1839–1906). The significance and use of language are central to his works, also incorporating the work of writers such as Pablo Neruda (1904–1973). His painted letters were another expression of his friendship and appreciation for other artists.
HAP Grieshaber, Pablo Neruda, Aufenthalt auf Erden (on the left), 1972. Collection Würth, inv. 2109
Pablo Neruda, Alturas de Macchu Picchu, Buch mit mehrfachen Holzschnitten und einem Titel-Holzschnitt von HAP Grieshaber, 1965 , Collection Würth, inv. 9579
His unconventional working methods are also evident in his “Osterritt” (1964). The artist depicted a journey on an Icelandic horse from Reutlingen to his birthplace, Rot an der Rot (Upper Swabia), in 38 woodcuts. This clearly demonstrates that he interpreted Christian pictorial traditions in a modern way. He used Christian symbolism, amongst other things, to depict experiences of war and reconciliation.
HAP Grieshaber, Osterrit, 1964. Collection Würth, inv. 9583
Greek mythology was also a source of inspiration that he discovered during his 1932 stay. For him, the gods Zeus, Athena and, in particular, Pan embodied forces such as beauty, nature, passion and energy.
His inspiration for woodcut art lay not only in the Expressionist tradition but also in Old German forms of expression. Furthermore, he revolutionised this art form through his technique, his large-format works and his own style of expression, which straddled figuration and abstraction. His legendary posters exemplify this connection between word and art.
Junge Aegyptische Welt, Wandteppiche, 1963, Collection Würth, inv. 9565b; Herbst, 1963, Sammlung Würth, inv. 9565a
Künstlerbund Baden-Württemberg, 8. Landesausstellung, 1962. Sammlung Würth, inv. 9566,; Jahresausstellung und Gedächtnisausstellung Georg Rohde, 1963, Sammlung Würth, inv. 9568
From 28 April 2026 to 2 May 2027, the Forum Würth in Arlesheim is hosting an impressive exhibition (Einschnitt I Ausdruck) showcasing the vast diversity of this artist’s works, themes and techniques. Woodcuts, self-portraits, book illustrations, posters, magazines, photographs, and even painted letters provide comprehensive insight into his artistic world, his social commitment, his literature, and his spirituality. For him, the woodcut was not merely an artistic technique, but also a means of expression – comparable to words and poems.
HAP Grieshaber, Malbrief an Paul Swiridoff. Collection Wurth, inv. 4162
More than 100 works from the Würth Collection, dating from 1960 to 1980, are on display and accompanied by documentation and a catalogue. HAP Grieshaber is also a child of 20th-century German history.
Two world wars, an empire, the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), the dictatorship (1933–1945, including a ban on practising his profession), the dictatorship of the GDR, and the reconstruction of the democratic Federal Republic of Germany shaped his era.
For him, it went without saying that an artist should express political views and that art and social engagement are inextricably linked. This was evident, among other things, in his environmental activism and in his magazine ‘Engel der Geschichte’.
As usual, the Forum Würth offers visitors the opportunity to try out HAP Grieshaber’s artistic forms of expression for themselves in the “Hap Lab” (in collaboration with the Basler Papiermühle). A documentary on his life and work provides background information.
(Source and further information: Forum Würth Arlesheim; O. Class, C. Sylvia Weber, R. Wachsmann, HAP Grieshaber und der Holzschnitt. Collection Würth und Leihgaben, Künzelsau, 2017)