Visual cultures of death in Central Europe : contemplation and commemoration in early modern Poland-Lithuania / by Aleksandra Koutny-Jones.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

Visual Cultures of Death in Central Europe: Contemplation and Commemoration in Early Modern Poland-Lithuania; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Acknowledgements; A Note on Proper Names; List of Maps and Figures; Glossary; Introduction: The Central European Age of Contemplation and Commemoration; 1: Frameworks for Visual Cultures of Death in Poland-Lithuania; Artistic Patronage in Poland-Lithuania; The Commonwealth and the Counter-Reformation; The Central European Printing Revolution; Plague and Warfare; Conclusion; 2: Death Personified: The Skeleton and the Printed Image.

Anatomical Treatises and the Melancholy DeathThe Triumph of Death; Allegories of Death: The Wheel of Death; Conclusion; 3: The Dance of Death in Central Europe: Indigenous Variations on a Familiar Theme; Dancing with Death in Medieval Western Europe and beyond; Performing the Dance of Death in Medieval Poland: Master Polikarpus's Dialogue with Death; Death and the Friars: The Role of the Observant Franciscans; Conclusion; 4: Triumphant Funerals: Ceremonial, Coffin Portraits and Catafalques; Processional Pomp: Heraldic Displays and the Theatre of Death.

Church Decorations and the Castrum DolorisCoffin Portraits: Images of the Spiritual body; Commemoration in Context: The Burials of the Opaliński Magnate Family; Conclusion; 5: Architectures and Landscapes of Death: Funerary Chapels and Jerusalem Sites; The Introduction of the Domed Chapel to Poland and Lithuania: Genesis and Symbolism; Central European Landscapes of Death: Jerusalem Sites; Decorating the Seventeenth-century Funerary Chapel: Sculpting the Passion and Personalising the Dance of Death; Conclusion; Conclusion.

Appendix: The Kraków Taniec śmierci (Dance of Death): Transcription and Translation of Textual CartouchesBibliography; Index.

In Visual Cultures of Death in Central Europe, Aleksandra Koutny-Jones explores the emergence of a remarkable cultural preoccupation with death in Poland-Lithuania (1569-1795). Examining why such interests resonated so strongly in the Baroque art of this Commonwealth, she argues that the printing revolution, the impact of the Counter-Reformation, and multiple afflictions suffered by Poland-Lithuania all contributed to a deep cultural concern with mortality. Introducing readers to a range of art, architecture and material culture, this study considers various visual evocations of death including 'Dance of Death' imagery, funerary decorations, coffin portraiture, tomb chapels and religious landscapes. These, Koutny-Jones argues, engaged with wider European cultures of contemplation and commemoration, while also being critically adapted to the specific context of Poland-Lithuania.

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