The Art of Death

The Art of Death Visual Culture in the English Death Ritual C.1500-C.1800

Paperback (01 Jun 1997)

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Publisher's Synopsis

How did our ancestors die? Whereas in our own day the subject of death is usually avoided, in pre-Industrial England the rituals and processes of death were present and immediate. People not only surrounded themselves with memento mori, they also sought to keep alive memories of those who had gone before. This continual confrontation with death was enhanced by a rich culture of visual artifacts. In The Art of Death, Nigel Llewellyn explores the meanings behind an astonishing range of these artifacts, and describes the attitudes and practices which lay behind their production and use.

Illustrated and explained in this book are an array of little-known objects and images such as death's head spoons, jewels and swords, mourning-rings and fans, wax effigies, church monuments, Dance of Death prints, funeral invitations and ephemera, as well as works by well-known artists, including Holbein, Hogarth and Blake.

Book information

ISBN: 9780948462160
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Pub date:
DEWEY: 704.9493069
DEWEY edition: 20
Language: English
Number of pages: 160
Weight: 410g
Height: 230mm
Width: 154mm
Spine width: 14mm