Luke Clennell’s Dance Of Death

More than twenty years have passed since my father died at this time of year and thoughts of mortality always enter my mind as the nights begin to draw in, as I prepare to face the spiritual challenge of another long dark winter ahead. So Luke Clennell’s splendid DANCE OF DEATH engravings inspired by Hans Holbein suit my mordant sensibility at this season. First published in 1825 as the work of ‘Mr Bewick’, they have recently been identified for me as the work of Thomas Bewick’s apprentice Luke Clennell by historian Dr Ruth Richardson. The Desolation The Queen The Pope The Cardinal The Elector The Canon The Canoness The Priest The Mendicant Friar The Councillor or Magistrate The Astrologer The Physician The Merchant The Wreck The Swiss Soldier The Charioteer or Waggoner The Porter The Fool The Miser The Gamesters The Drunkards The Beggar The Thief The Newly Married Pair The Husband The Wife The Child The Old Man The Old Woman You may also like to take a look at Luke Clennell’s London…