Alfred Rethel

German, 1816 - 1859

Explore Selected Works

See all 14 works of art
Printed with black lines and shading on almond-white paper, a skeleton stands among three prone bodies and plays two human bones like a violin in this vertical wood engraving. At the center of the composition, the skeleton wears a long, hooded robe tied around the waist with a rope. It stands with one foot crossed in front of the other with its ear bent to the bone used as a fiddle. Two men and a woman lie on the floor around him. The woman wears a domino covering her eyes and a low-cut gown, and one man’s full-face grinning mask has slipped down. One fists grips the fabric of his pants, and his toes are curled. A third person dressed as a jester lies collapsed on hands and knees. On a platform on a stage, a person dressed as a skeleton or a mannequin sits wearing a robe and Egyptian khat, a shoulder-length cloth headdress, and holds a three-tailed flail. Three people in the shadows beyond this figure lunge to our right, presumably fleeing. Four men dressed in tunics and leggings and carrying musical instruments rush from the left platform through an open door in the upper left. Three turn to look at the skeleton and bodies with open mouths while the fourth holds his nose with his cloak. An inscription in Gothic lettering in the bottom center margin reads, “Der Tod als Erwürger.”
Alfred Rethel, Der Tod als Erwürger (Death as a Strangler), 1851, wood engraving [first edition], Rosenwald Collection, 1951.10.113

Der Tod als Erwürger (Death as a Strangler)

Alfred Rethel · 1851 · wood engraving [first edition] ·  Accession ID  1951.10.113

Alfred Rethel, Gustav Richard Steinbrecher, Hugo Bürkner, Julius Buddeus, Der Tod als Erwürger (Death as a Strangler), 1851, wood engraving on wove paper [first edition], Ruth and Jacob Kainen Memorial Acquisition Fund, 2015.103.2

Der Tod als Erwürger (Death as a Strangler)

Alfred Rethel, Gustav Richard Steinbrecher, Hugo Bürkner, Julius Buddeus · 1851 · wood engraving on wove paper [first edition] ·  Accession ID  2015.103.2

Alfred Rethel, Richard Julius Jungtow, Hugo Bürkner, Julius Buddeus, Der Tod als Freund (Death as a Friend), 1851, wood engraving on wove paper [first edition], Ruth and Jacob Kainen Memorial Acquisition Fund, 2015.103.1

Der Tod als Freund (Death as a Friend)

Alfred Rethel, Richard Julius Jungtow, Hugo Bürkner, Julius Buddeus · 1851 · wood engraving on wove paper [first edition] ·  Accession ID  2015.103.1

Alfred Rethel, Richard Julius Jungtow, Der Tod als Freund (Death as a Friend), 1851, wood engraving on wove paper [fourth edition], Rosenwald Collection, 1951.10.112

Der Tod als Freund (Death as a Friend)

Alfred Rethel, Richard Julius Jungtow · 1851 · wood engraving on wove paper [fourth edition] ·  Accession ID  1951.10.112

Alfred Rethel, Auch ein Todtentanz VI, 1849, wood engraving, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1971.28.5

Auch ein Todtentanz VI

Alfred Rethel · 1849 · wood engraving ·  Accession ID  1971.28.5

Alfred Rethel, Auch ein Todtentanz: Text Page, 1849, typeset printing, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1971.28.8

Auch ein Todtentanz: Text Page

Alfred Rethel · 1849 · typeset printing ·  Accession ID  1971.28.8

Alfred Rethel, Auch ein Todtentanz I, 1849, wood engraving, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1971.28.3

Auch ein Todtentanz I

Alfred Rethel · 1849 · wood engraving ·  Accession ID  1971.28.3

Alfred Rethel, Auch ein Todtentanz III, 1849, wood engraving, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1971.28.2

Auch ein Todtentanz III

Alfred Rethel · 1849 · wood engraving ·  Accession ID  1971.28.2

Alfred Rethel, Auch ein Todtentanz IV, 1849, wood engraving, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1971.28.6

Auch ein Todtentanz IV

Alfred Rethel · 1849 · wood engraving ·  Accession ID  1971.28.6

Alfred Rethel, Auch ein Todtentanz V, 1849, wood engraving, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1971.28.4

Auch ein Todtentanz V

Alfred Rethel · 1849 · wood engraving ·  Accession ID  1971.28.4

Bibliography

1916

  • Bombe, Walter. "Aus Alfred Rethels Nachlass." Cicerone VIII (1916):273-280.