The round dance of couples in the medieval Dance of Death had a definite impact on these works.
Each couple such as "Death is Drumming", "Death and the Maiden" represents a complete cycle to encompass these archaic themes, for:
Death is always present.
It is everyday as time passes. Its closeness raises the question of sense and significance; it opens the dimensions of finiteness and finality.
Paradoxically, this representation of Death is dancing. Death is calling, mirroring, it works as an oracle, brings up all the spirits as at Mardi Gras. The world is upside down. Exaggerated to this extent, the skeleton changes into the last structural frame. The Dance of Death with its music rings in a cyclic metamorphosis.
