description HAP Grieshaber – Totentanz – Dance of Death (1966) Overview
Totentanz, or Dance of Death, is a 1966 woodcut by German artist HAP Grieshaber, who made large-scale relief printing central to his work. It revisits the long European tradition of depicting death as a force that confronts people regardless of rank or social position. Grieshaber translated that medieval allegorical subject into broad areas of color, simplified figures, and visibly cut forms characteristic of his modern woodcuts.
help HAP Grieshaber – Totentanz – Dance of Death (1966) FAQ
Is Grieshaber's Totentanz a single woodcut or a complete series?
The 1966 Totentanz von Basel is a portfolio of 40 color woodcuts rather than one isolated image. Grieshaber used the sequence to reinterpret Basel's historic Dance of Death tradition.
Why does Grieshaber's Totentanz show death confronting different kinds of people?
Dance of Death imagery traditionally presents death as an equalizing force that reaches every social class. Grieshaber's 1966 treatment updates a European subject that had appeared in prints and murals for centuries.
How was the 1966 Totentanz physically made?
Grieshaber carved relief blocks, applied ink to their raised surfaces, and printed the images onto paper. The portfolio uses color woodcut printing, a medium he helped revive at a monumental scale in postwar Germany.
How does Grieshaber's Totentanz relate to the Basel Dance of Death?
Its German title, Totentanz von Basel, directly invokes the famous mural cycle formerly painted in Basel. Grieshaber did not simply reproduce that lost work, but recast its encounters with death in his own bold 1966 woodcut language.
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