Allégorie. La Mort faucheuse aux yeux bandés [graphic].
1600
Items
Details
Title
Allégorie. La Mort faucheuse aux yeux bandés [graphic].
Created/published
[France] : [s.n.], [ca. 1600]
Description
1 item ; 155 x 115 mm
Note
This is a PRELIMINARY RECORD. It may contain incorrect information. Please email catalog@folger.edu for assistance.
Genre/form
Place of creation/publication
France, -- publication place.
Item Details
Call number
272807
Folger-specific note
From dealer's description: "48: Allegory. The blindfolded Death Reaper. c.1600. Engraved with etching and chisel by an anonymous person. H155(165)xL108(116)mm. Rare redness in the tablet and a few ink stains on the back. Proof on laid paper. Small margins. People have been fascinated with death for all time. It was powerful in the Middle Ages when the major plague epidemics decimated all of Europe. This obsession corresponds without doubt to the fear and the anguish as to the mystery that death represents. “In this era of disease (plague) and unrest, death is often represented as a skeleton wearing a black toga with a hood and various accessories. The possible varieties include: the horse, musical instruments, bow and arrow, and the scythe. In the case of this composition, two characteristics are joined together (bow-arrow-scythe), which is quite rare. In general, death was illustrated with a skeleton or a decomposing cadaver to convey fear and horror; here, death is represented by an androgynous human form. The blindfolded eyes are a clear symbol: death kills everything indiscriminately. No one is safe from death.” — Charlotte Quesnel wrote in a 2014 blog post titled “La Mort dans l’art” (Death in Art)." Ordered from Galerie Martinez D., D9704, 2023 -12-22, Cat. 43, item #48.
Folger accession
272807