Ontwerp voor schilderij De St. Vitus-dans 1876 - 1915

Ferdinand Hart Nibbrig sketched this study for 'The St. Vitus Dance' with colored pencil, capturing a scene of feverish movement and medieval dread. Note the central figure of the fiddler, an ambivalent symbol of both revelry and doom. In medieval folklore, music could incite uncontrollable dancing, a symptom of the affliction known as St. Vitus Dance, or Sydenham's chorea. This involuntary movement becomes a metaphor for societal unrest and psychological distress. The musician, often depicted as an outsider or trickster, appears in other times and places as the Pied Piper of Hamelin, leading townspeople with promises that have a dark cost. Observe how the motif evolves from a mere entertainer to a harbinger of chaos, reflecting our collective anxieties about societal order. The St. Vitus Dance, an image of collective hysteria, reveals the powerful force that art possesses, tapping into our deepest fears and subconscious associations. It continues to resurface, evolving to reflect new anxieties within contemporary contexts.