Holbein's Dance of Death
"Death and the King"
Hans Holbein the Younger, "Death and the King," from "The Dance of Death" (Les simulachres & historées faces de la mort).
Artwork Details
This woodcut, part of Hans Holbein the Younger's iconic "Dance of Death" series, depicts Death leading a King to his demise. The series, first published in 1538, satirizes the universality of death, which spares no one, regardless of their social standing or wealth.
- Artist: Hans Holbein the Younger
- Series: The Dance of Death (Les simulachres & historées faces de la mort)
- Subject: Death and the King
- Medium: Woodcut
- Date (Series Publication): 1538
- Theme: Mortality, Social Equality in Death, Vanity
In this particular scene, Death, depicted as a skeleton, pulls the king by his robe, interrupting his regal procession. The king, adorned in his royal attire, is forced to confront his mortality, highlighting the ultimate equalizer that death represents.
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