Work / monument · artifact

Danse Macabre (Notke)

late 15th century · 15th century

The Danse Macabre by Bernt Notke is a painting on canvas showing figures of every rank, from pope and emperor downwards, being led away by dancing skeletons. Made for St Nicholas' Church in Reval (Tallinn) in the late 15th century, it survives as a fragment about 7.5 metres long and is now displayed in the same church, now a museum. It is one of the few surviving medieval Dance of Death paintings.

Danse Macabre (Notke) — Image: JoJan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Cite this entry

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Danse Macabre (Notke). In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/danse-macabre-notke
MLA: “Danse Macabre (Notke).” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/danse-macabre-notke. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Danse Macabre (Notke).” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/danse-macabre-notke.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Danse Macabre (Notke)’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/danse-macabre-notke (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻