Wolgast Dance of Death

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Caspar Siegmund Köppe: The dance of death

The Wolgaster Dance of Death is a dance of death in the Petrikirche in Wolgast in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania . The dance of death was made around 1700 by the painter and shipowner Caspar Siegmund Köppe.

history

The 25 panel paintings were originally in the Wolgast Gertrudenkapelle, which was used as a cemetery chapel . The 18th panel “The young, strong people” contains the signature “Caspar Sigmund Köppe Pinxit, anno 1700”. According to tradition, Köppe is said to have been a shipowner and lost his wife and children to an epidemic, which is why he painted the pictures and donated them to the city. However, the plague did not reach the city until 1709-1711. There is also no evidence that Köppe was a citizen of Wolgast.

The name Bentschneider and the year 1702 were given at the foot of the pulpit. In Wolgaster Stadtmatrikel his house no. 113 is recorded, and is referred to as a painter. Adrian Dietrich Bentschneider was certainly involved in the renovation of the chapel in 1702, possibly also in some dance pictures.

The author of the verse is unknown. Since these indicated the conception, the painter and poet certainly worked together, and the painter may also have written the texts. Otherwise the Wolgast pastors are most likely to come into question, such as Gabriel Schultze or Johann Balthasar Krockisius. In an information leaflet on the dance of death, the parish names Bentschneider as the author.

When the chapel was renovated in 1868, the cycle first came to the Jürgen chapel , which was then used as a cemetery chapel. When this was rededicated as the parish hall, they ended up in the Petrikirche. During the fire in 1920, all pictures were saved, but the picture of Christ's death and resurrection is the restoration of life "fell into strange hands" and was lost. In 1930 the parish had the pictures incorporated into the choir stalls.

The large-format paintings are among the few surviving monumental dance of death representations in northern Germany. They have been gradually renovated since 2008.

Characteristic

Age and youth

The pictures are a free copy of the woodcut series Pictures of Death by Hans Holbein the Younger published in 1538 . Köppe is said to have painted them after he lost his wife and children to an epidemic. In contrast to late medieval depictions, God recedes as Lord of life and death. Only the first picture shows the Fall , the last one the Last Judgment . The lost penultimate picture showed the risen Christ with the verse "Christ's death and resurrection is the restoration of life" . "Overall, death appears as an independent power that is in league with God and is part of God's omnipotence , which here appears gloomy and mute."

The illustration with the verse The antichristian otter breed shows a special feature // Death may not run away either. The picture shows the Pope and Sultan shaking hands in complicity. Catholics and Ottomans have been considered enemies of evangelical Christianity since the Reformation and, contrary to the facts, appear here as allies against the little man who lies at their feet.

The picture series is - like other dances of death - an example of a macabre, sometimes humorous fantasy. It shows everyday life around 1700, but also approaches to social criticism and an awareness of the equality of all people before death.

Text and sequence

Children and young people

The verses above the pictures succinctly and sarcastically describe the content of the 24 pictures received:

  1. Origin of death: Through Eve's lust and Satan's cunning // Death is coming into this world.
  2. The end of the story: Just a canvas and a house like this // You finally bring out the world.
  3. All people have to die: with bang and trumpet sound // Death announces itself everywhere.
  4. The Kaiser: The Kaiser and the Roman Empire // And whoever is more in it must die soon.
  5. The Pope and the Turk: The anti-Christian Otteregezuecht // Death may not escape either.
  6. The King: The king doesn’t help his power, // He has to be in the same shape.
  7. The prince: The prince would not succeed either // If he wanted to fight against death.
  8. The knight: No lord and chivalrous man // Death can win something.
  9. The woman: No woman is born so high, // It has to be part of it, you should be angry right away.
    Rich - drunkard, gambler, blasphemer
  10. The nobility: The nobility just don't argue, // Death stabs their heart.
  11. The preacher: The servant of God at the word, // When the glass is out, must go with us.
  12. The farmer: The peasants and the lowly people // Death also takes away as its prey.
  13. The wise man and the fool : The wise man's art, the fool's game, // It doesn't help, it matters all the same to death.
  14. The doctor: The doctor often wants to drive away death, // And must remain in his own hands.
  15. The lawyer: The council, judge, lawyer quickly, // Find yourself without appealing to dance.
  16. The citizen: The citizen no trade nor work // Can save from death, notice that.
  17. The ungodly heap: The drunks, gamblers, blasphemers, // foster such an end death bestow.
  18. The rich man : The rich man has to die too, // He cannot buy it with money.
  19. Learn to die: like green grass to people // Certainly the food for the dead will cut down.
    Lazarus - judgment
  20. The old: The old, who without 'the work' // Death also gently leads to the grave.
  21. The children: Death also chokes little children // not minding that the mother is crying.
  22. The young strong people: youth, virgin, man and woman // See that death wears them out too.
  23. The poor: The death of poor Lazarus // without pity has to serve.
  24. The last judgment: In the last judgment, God's Son // everyone will be given their reward.

Today's hanging does not correspond to the original order. Norbert Buske reconstructed this based on a newspaper article by Dietrich Hermann Biederstedt from 1820 as follows:

1 - 3 - 4 - 6 - 7 - 9 - 8 - 10 - 11 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 16 - 12 - 18 - 23 - 21 - 22 - 20 - 17 - 5 - 2 - 19 - "Origin of life "- 24

literature

Web links

Commons : Wolgaster Totentanz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. a b Norbert Buske: The Wolgast Dance of Death . Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 1998, pp. 7, 12.
  2. Norbert Buske: The Wolgast dance of death . Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 1998, p. 11.
  3. Information leaflet: The Dance of Death , display in the church in July 2017
  4. a b c Ev. Parish of St. Petri (ed.), The dance of death in the St. Petri Church in Wolgast . Geros-Verlag, Neubrandenburg, undated
  5. Evangelical parish : The Church of St. Petri in Wolgast - The Wolgast Dance of Death ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kirche-wolgast.de
  6. a b Wolfgang Mietler: Introduction to The Dance of Death in the St. Petri Church in Wolgast . Geros-Verlag, Neubrandenburg, undated
  7. Norbert Buske: The Wolgast dance of death . Thomas Helms Verlag, Schwerin 1998, p. 8f.

Coordinates: 54 ° 3 ′ 13 ″  N , 13 ° 46 ′ 36 ″  E