HOLBEIN 1804 Dance of Death ABBOT Original HOLLAR SKELETON Engraving Framed COA

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Four Centuries of the World's Finest ArtistsFrom our Collection to yoursThank You for VisitingDeath, in a very ludicrous attitude, with the Abbot's Mitre on his head, and his crosier on his shoulder, has seized him by the cloak, whilst the other endeavours to disengage himself, and appears to be throwing his breviary at his assailant.Please feel free to ask any questionsyou might have about this work andwe will answer promptly.International Bidders are alwayswelcome to bid and we combine shipping on all orders.Artist: Hans Holbein (1497-1543) by Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677)Title: "Dance of Death: The Abbot (Plate 13)"Medium: Engraving after the original work of Hans Holbein by Wenceslaus Hollar. This work is hand pulled from the original Hollar plateYear: 1804Signature: Signed in the plate.Condition: ExcellentSize: Plate c. 2 1/8 x 2 7/8 inches, Framed c. 13 x 14 inches.Additional notes: This is not a modern print. It was hand pulled from the copper plate more than 210 years ago. The strike is crisp and the lines are sharp.Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity and is Fully Guaranteed to be Certified as DescribedOur Other Auctions :Additional Notes:Dance of Death, also variously called Danse Macabre (French) is an artistic genre of late-medieval allegory on the universality of death: no matter one's station in life, the Dance of Death unites all. The Danse Macabre consists of the dead or personified Death summoning representatives from all walks of life to dance along to the grave, typically with a pope, emperor, king, child, and labourer. They were produced to remind people of the fragility of their lives and how vain were the glories of earthly life. Its origins are postulated from illustrated sermon texts; the earliest recorded visual scheme was a now lost mural in the Saints Innocents Cemetery in Paris dating from 1424-25.BiographyHans Holbein the Younger (c.1497-1543) 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. He is called "the Younger" to distinguish him from his father, Hans Holbein the Elder, an accomplished painter of the Late Gothic school.Holbein followed in the footsteps of Augsburg artists like his father and Hans Burgkmair, who largely made their living from religious commissions. Despite calls for reform, the church in the late 15th century was medieval in tradition. It maintained an allegiance to Rome and a faith in pieties such as pilgrimages, veneration of relics, and prayer for dead souls. Holbein's early work reflects this culture. The growing reform movement, led by humanists such as Erasmus and Thomas More, began, however, to change religious attitudes. Basel, where Martin Luther's major works were published, became the main centre for the transmission of Reformation ideas.The gradual shift from traditional to reformed religion can be charted in Holbein's work. His Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb of 1522 expresses a humanist view of Christ in tune with the reformist climate in Basel at the time. 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.Hollar produced a variety of works; his plates number some 2740, and include views, portraits, ships, religious subjects, heraldic subjects, landscapes, and still life in many different forms. His architectural drawings, such as those of Antwerp and Strassburg cathedrals, and his views of towns, are to scale, but are intended as pictures as well. He reproduced decorative works of other artists, as in the famous chalice after Mantegna's drawing.Almost complete collections of Hollar's work are kept in the British Museum, the print room at Windsor Castle and the National Gallery in Prague. Hollar's oeuvre was first catalogued in 1745 (2nd ed. 1759) by George Vertue. The prints were subsequently catalogued in 1853 by Gustav Parthey and in 1982 by Richard Pennington. A new complete illustrated catalogue has been published in the New Hollstein German series. Much of his work is available online from the University of Toronto in their Wenceslaus Hollar digital collection.There is a High School of Arts and Higher Professional Art School in Prague, named after him.Have a Question? ..Any framing included in a listing is double matted and framed in a solid wood moulding.We can also frame any pieces not listed as such. Please contact us for pricing.We are usually half the price of a regular framer.Packages are shipped the next business day after confirmed payment is received.If you are making multiple purchases, please request an invoice so that we maycombine shipping charges for you.We guarantee all our listings to be 100% as describedReturns are accepted up to fourteen days after receiving your purchase.Buyer accepts responsibility for any additional shipping charges. read more

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