Auch ein Todtentanz VI

Alfred Rethel

National Gallery of Art

This drawing depicts a skeletal figure on horseback in a city scene. The skeletal figure, wearing a cloak, rides a horse through a scene of destruction and death. The background shows smoke and crumbling buildings, suggesting devastation. Prone figures lie on the ground in the foreground. Strong contrasts of black and white emphasize the dramatic and eerie nature of the scene. The composition conveys a sense of doom and universality of death.