''Death playing chess'' (in Swedish: ''Döden spelar schack'') is a monumental painting in

Täby Church Täby Church () is a medieval church in Täby Municipality, in the province of Uppland north of Stockholm. The church is best known for its painted walls and ceilings by Albertus Pictor.Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It was painted around 1480–1490, by the Swedish medieval painter

Albertus Pictor Albertus Pictor (English, "Albert the Painter"; Immenhusen, c. 1440 – c. 1507), also called Albert Pictor, Albert Målare and Albrekt Pärlstickare (Swedish), is the most famous late medieval Swedish painter, known for his wallpaintings survivi ...

. The painting depicts a man and a skeleton at a

chessboard A chessboard is a game board used to play chess. It consists of 64 squares, 8 rows by 8 columns, on which the chess pieces are placed. It is square in shape and uses two colours of squares, one light and one dark, in a chequered pattern. During p ...

. Above them is a ribbon, now faded, which once read "''Jak spelar tik matt''", "I

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

thee". A copy of the mural is stored in the collections of the Swedish Museum of History in Stockholm.

Analysis

The artist was born with the name Albrecht, and was sometimes called Immenhusen, after the village Immenhusen in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany. It is assumed that Albertus was educated in southern Germany. He is one of the most significant medieval Swedish artists. His works represent a unique combination of quality and quantity. He painted 36 churches in Mälardalen and

Norrbotten Norrbotten (), sometimes called North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swede ...

. He stands out as the most active artist in the Swedish church painting in the second half of the 15th century. He differs from other artists of the same period with his bright expression. His painting has unusual breadth and diversity in his technical performance. This mural represents how a knight plays chess with death and skillfully depicts figures with precise anatomical proportions, combining them with clothes and weapons, with a relatively realistic vision. The mural inspired Ingmar Bergman to create the film ''

The Seventh Seal ''The Seventh Seal'' () is a 1957 Swedish historical fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and a game of chess he plays with the p ...

'' in 1957.Bäckstedt, Eva.

References

{{Authority control 1480 paintings 15th century in chess Church frescos in Sweden Death in art 15th century in art Murals Religious art Täby Municipality Swedish paintings Chess paintings