Ars Moriendi: Impatience

I have become a little obsessed with this woodcut, found in the book "The Flowering of the Middle Ages."

It's from a series of medieval woodcuts called Ars Moriendi ("The Art of Dying" or "How to Die") which illustrate the many temptations that will come to a person in their dying hours. This one in particular is describing the sin of Impatience. The sick man is using his final hours on this earth to make everyone around him miserable. He's overturned his table and is kicking his doctor off the bed, thereby putting his soul in mortal danger.

There's a whole bunch of things I like about this illustration. I like the way the way the clothes and blankets are drawn. I like the composition. I like the fact that there's a complete absence of reference to the Bible. And I like the primitive speech bubble scroll-thingies. More cartoonists should use those.

Above all, I like the woman in the foreground. Even though there's all this other drama going on, the woman is the focal point of the composition for me. She's standing there, holding a drink and a plate with some kind of meat on it, but she can't put it down because the dying jerk has just overturned the table. She's facing away from the action, as if she's taking a moment to collect herself so she doesn't do anything she'll regret. And she appears to be rolling her eyes.

Isn't that great?

This series of woodcuts was duplicated many times in the early- to mid-1400s, so we can compare this one (which isn't attributed to any specific printing of the series) with others.

The two versions are nearly identical. This one is a little cleaner. The line work is better. But look: the woman in the foreground isn't as pretty and she isn't doing anything interesting with her eyes. She appears to be looking at the demon, or contemplating the overturned table.

Here's the engraving by the Master E.S., which is usually thought to be the original.

A world of difference! The original lacks the vitality of its copies. The dying man doesn't look like he's dying. The doctor doesn't look as annoyed to be kicked, and the woman bringing the food looks like the picture of patience, as if she's bringing him dinner despite his being a wanker.