The Waggoner

Category

Library Item

Item no

28464

Title

The Waggoner

Description

Two skeletons, representing Death, have upturned the cart of a waggoner. One tips the cargo onto the ground. The other, on the left, has his eye on the fleeing driver; this is a clear sign of the driver's impending demise. This image is therefore a reminder of human mortality. It also highlights the invisible nature of Death and man's obliviousness to it; the skeleton on the left rides one of the waggoner's horses, which suggests he has directed the crash and been in the waggoner's presence for some time.

Artist / maker

Pseudo-Bewick

Date

1825

Size

6.7 x 5.3 cm

Type

Wood cut

Location

Art and Design Library

This woodcut is from a Dance of Death published in 1825; it is one of many volumes in Central Library's Dance of Death Collection. The artist responsible for this set of cuts is unknown but is sometimes referred to as Pseudo- Bewick. The publisher, William Charlton Wright claimed that the cuts were by a 'Mr. Bewick', but the two known engravers of the period of this name, Thomas and John Bewick, categorically denied any involvement with Charlton Wright's venture. John Bewick had once completed a Dance of Death, but the blocks needed to duplicate the series were destroyed in a fire in 1803. In any case, the cuts of 1825 are stylistically very different to the Bewick brothers' works. Many commentators remarked upon their caricature-like quality; Francis Douce, the Dance of Death expert, called them 'absurdly modernised.'

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Related images

Related subjects

Agriculture and fisheries > Equipment > Barrels

Animals > Mammals > Horses

People > Body parts > Skeletons

People > Commercial activities > Draymen

Transport > Land > Horse and carts

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