The Morris Dancers
Israhel van Meckenem, the younger
1465–1503
- Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- Plate/sheet: 17.2 × 17.2 cm (6 13/16 × 6 13/16 in.)
- Genre
- engraving
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
engravingprintprints and drawingpaper (fiber product)
About
The Morris Dance is a folk dance still practiced in England today. Here the roundel shape of Meckenem’s engraving echoes the pattern of the cavorting dancers, as they encircle a young woman holding a ring. The poses are intentionally exaggerated, especially that of the fool at left. The dance, which may have originated in medieval Spain, was a popular court spectacle, as the merry throng of onlookers at the window suggests.
