Death in Germany: Original Artwork and Historic Texts in Conversation
Date of Award
2009
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Cuomo, Glenn
Keywords
Germany, Art, Literature, Poetry, Early New High German, Der Ackermann aus Böhmen, Morphine, Von Tepl, Johannes, Heine, Heinrich, Benn, Gottfried, Mann und Frau gehn durch die Krebsbaracke
Area of Concentration
Humanities
Abstract
Der Ackermann aus Böhmen (c. 1400) by Johannes von Tepl presents a debate between Death and a widower, Heinrich Heine's dark poem "Morphine" (c. 1850) invokes Thanatos, and in "Mann und Frau gehen durch die Krebsbaracke" (1912) Gottfried Benn describes female cancer patients in detached, clinical terms. These changing attitudes towards death in German literature correspond to developments in personal expression in the visual arts. My project engages in a conversation with these writings through my own artwork, giving agency to the dying and using conventions contemporary to each text: fifteenth-century woodcuts, Romantic drawings, and Expressionist prints.
Recommended Citation
Cara, Lidia, "Death in Germany: Original Artwork and Historic Texts in Conversation" (2009). Theses & ETDs. 4068.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4068