id:			110605
accession number:	1929.169
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1929.169
updated:		2023-03-25 11:14:21.322000

Dance of Death:  The Child, c. 1526. Hans Holbein (German, active in Switzerland and England, 1497/98–1543). Woodcut; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1929.169

title:				Dance of Death:  The Child
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1526
creation date earliest:		1521
creation date latest:		1526
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland
copyright:			

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culture:	Germany, 16th century
technique:	woodcut
department:	Prints
collection:	PR - Woodcut
type:		Print
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: Passavant vol.3.366.38

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CREATORS

* Hans Holbein (German, active in Switzerland and England, 1497/98–1543)  - artist

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inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Exhibition of Prints by the Little Masters: Prints form the Museum Collection
	opening date:   1938-03-23T05:00:00
	<i>Exhibition of Prints by the Little Masters: Prints form the Museum Collection</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-April 24, 1938).

	title:		From Block Books to Baskin: Artists as Illustrators
	opening date:   1986-05-13T04:00:00
	<i>From Block Books to Baskin: Artists as Illustrators</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 13-August 17, 1986).

	title:		Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection
	opening date:   2003-08-17T00:00:00
	<i>Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

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wall description:
<em>Dance of Death</em> is the most celebrated series of woodcuts designed by Holbein. The forty-one blocks were cut by Hans Lützelburger in the years immediately before his death in 1526, though the set was not published until 1538. Dance of Death originated as a drama in the middle of the 14th century. Following widespread epidemics such as the black plague, these plays took place in a cemetery or churchyard. Actors, dressed in pale costumes painted to resemble skeletons, personified Death and summoned a group of people from all social classes in a dancelike procession. In a period when the life span was short, the purpose of the Dance of Death was to remind the populace to prepare for the Last Judgement.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1929.169/1929.169_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1929.169/1929.169_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1929.169/1929.169_full.tif