The Dance of Death

One of Hans Holbein's first great triumphs, The Dance of Death is an incomparable sequence of tiny woodcuts showing the folly of human greed and pride. Each image is packed with drama, wit, and horror, as a skeleton mocks and terrifies everyone from the emperor to a ploughman. Taking full advantage of the new literary culture of the early sixteenth century, The Dance of Death took an old medieval theme and made it new.

This edition reproduces a complete set from the British Museum, with many details highlighted and examples of other works in this grisly field included. Ulinka Rublack introduces the woodcuts with a remarkable essay on the late medieval Danse Macabre (the Dance of Death) and the world Holbein lived in.

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