Morbid thoughts on this All Hallows Eve... Hans Holbeins macabre woodcuts accompany this Dance of Death publication, originally titled Les simulachres & historiees faces de la mort. The text says at one point, Meilleure la mort que la vie - or better life than death. First printed in 1538, Holbein’s woodcuts for the Dance of Death were a popular bestseller in the sixteenth century. His publishers reprinted them and added new subjects in later editions such as this third French edition, which contains 53 woodcuts showing Death gamboling through all ranks of human society. No one is spared, not even the king of France who is represented in an obvious portrait of François I (d. 1547).
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 18:00:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015