Artwork
Dance of Death: Death Intoxicated
Dance of Death: Death Intoxicated is a print by Percy John Delf Smith. It dates from 1919 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Percy John Delf Smith’s 1919 print, Dance of Death: Death Intoxicated, is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection. The work presents a stark, nocturnal tableau in which a skeletal figure clutches a drink, embodying a grim celebration of mortality.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, a personified Death, is depicted in the act of drinking, suggesting a paradoxical intoxication with its own role. The image conveys the artist’s contemplation of life’s fragility and the absurdity of human folly in the face of inevitable demise.
Technique & Style
Executed in a chiaroscuro manner, the print relies on dramatic contrasts of light and shadow to heighten its somber mood. The stark illumination of the figure against a deep, unlit background emphasizes the tension between presence and absence.
Context
Created shortly after the First World War, the work reflects the widespread disillusionment and preoccupation with death that followed the conflict. Delf Smith’s experience of the war’s devastation informed his recurring exploration of mortality in several subsequent pieces.
History & Provenance
Since its acquisition, the print has remained in the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is displayed as part of the institution’s early‑20th‑century print holdings, offering insight into post‑war artistic responses to loss.
Artist & collection
Artist
Percy John Delf Smith was a British artist who worked in engraving, painting, lettering, calligraphy and book design.
