Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 218.5

HANS HOLBEIN (1497-1543) The dances of death, through the various stages of human life: wherein the capriciousness of that tyrant is exhibited: in forty-six copper-plates; done from the original designs, which were cut in wood, and afterwards painted, by John Holbein, in the town-house of Basil. To which are prefixed, descriptions of each plate in French and English, with the scripture text from which the designs were taken. / etched by D. Deuchar, F.A.S. Printed by S. Gosnell, … for J. Scott,… and Thomas Ostell 1803 [8], 47 p. [48] leaves of plates : ill. (woodcuts) 22 cm

[Additional author: Mechel, Christian von (1737-1817). Other title: Triomphe de la mort (added engraved title page); Holbein’s dance of death.] Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497 – November 1543) was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history of book design. Born in Augsburg, Holbein worked mainly in Basel as a young artist. His Late Gothic style was enriched by artistic trends in Italy, France, and the Netherlands, as well as by Renaissance Humanism. The result was a combined aesthetic uniquely his own. By 1535, he was King's Painter to King Henry VIII. In this role, he produced not only portraits and festive decorations but also designs for jewelry, plate, and other precious objects. His portraits of the royal family and nobles are a vivid record of a brilliant court in the momentous years when Henry was asserting his supremacy over the English church. Holbein's art has sometimes been called realist, since he drew and painted with a rare precision. His portraits were renowned in their time for their likeness; and it is through Holbein's eyes that many famous figures of his day, such as Erasmus and More, are now "seen". The Dance of Death (1523–26) refashions the late-medieval allegory of the danse macabre as a reformist satire. Holbein's series of woodcuts shows the figure of "Death" in many disguises, confronting individuals from all walks of life. None escape Death's skeleton clutches, even the pious. (Hans Holbein the Younger, Wikipedia.com)

Cited references: Wellcome III, p.290; Cushing H388

John Martin M.D. Endowment