[The dance of death theme. On the cultural erosion of the figure of imagination]

The Dance of Death theme was the most developed figure of imagination of the late Middle Ages. Its sources were not only rich but also mysterious: oriental influence, pagan customs, Christian religion, and the habits of medieval everyday life. The imagery tendency of religious themes and the invention of wood engraving established the Dance of Death theme as a popular form of death imagery. The modern erosion of the Dance of Death theme has two reasons: 1) dying, death and corpses no longer constitute a sensual experience; 2) medical context of death disintegrated the former sacrum which has established ideological horizons of death imagery.