Painted from 1616 to 1637, only 45 of the bridge’s original 67 panels remain intact. They’re the largest known depiction of a Totentanz cycle, or Danse Macabre in French (both mean the “Dance of Death.”) Each panel shows townsfolk living life and making merry while Death parties unseen alongside them. It was intended as a reminder to make peace with your creator, since death awaits us all — an apt message in an era filled with plagues and war. Each of the panels had a sponsor, whose family crest appears on the left. The crest of his wife’s family appears on the right, and a verse describing the painting’s theme and naming the donors runs beneath the image.