Dance of Death woodcuts

What it is

These are printed woodcuts made by Hans Holbein the Younger around 1526 and published in 1538, held today by institutions including the British Museum. Each print shows the skeletal figure of Death leading away a person from a different walk of life, such as the abbot shown here being pulled toward a tree with an hourglass.

Why it matters

These woodcuts spread the memento mori tradition across Europe through the new technology of print, reaching far more people than a single painted mural could. The imagery of Death as an equalizer who takes everyone regardless of rank grew out of the mass mortality of the plague era, showing how that experience shaped art and popular belief for generations afterward.

Look closer

• Why might Holbein choose an abbot, a figure of religious authority, as one subject of Death's visit?
• How would printing these images as woodcuts change who could see them, compared to a painted mural?
• What does the hourglass symbol add to the scene's meaning?