Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677)
after Hans Holbein the younger (German, c.1497-1543)
The Knight and Death, from The Dance of Death
INV-1090
Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677)
after Hans Holbein the younger (German, c.1497-1543)1651
The Knight and Death, from The Dance of Death
Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677) after Hans Holbein the younger (German, c.1497-1543) →etchingprint
Date
1651
Medium
Etching in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 7.1 × 5.2 cm (2 13/16 × 2 1/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
The Wallace L. DeWolf and Joseph Brooks Fair Collections
Hans Holbein’s famous Dance of Death woodcut series of 1538 (augmented in 1545) illustrated the medieval trope of the inescapability of mortality, regardless of one’s social rank or piety. These later etched copies by Hollar (1920.2251 and 1920.2259) capture the flavor of the original, showing a Landsknecht at two customary activities: hoisting his two-handed sword on the battlefield and gambling indoors. The fact that the soldier’s opponent in both cases is Death personified does not bode well for his chances.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
The Garden of Eden
Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677) after Hans Holbein the younger (German, c.1497-1543)
Death's Coat of Arms
Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677) after Hans Holbein the younger (German, c.1497-1543)
The Doctor and Death
Wenceslaus Hollar (Bohemian, 1607-1677) after Hans Holbein the younger (German, c.1497-1543)
