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DANCE OF DEATH
nv
HANS HOLBEIN
THE
DANCE OF DEATH
BY
HANS HOLBEIN
THE FULL SERIES OF WOOD -ENGRAVINGS
REPRODUCED IN PHOTOTYPE
FROM THE PROOFS AND ORIGINAL EDITIONS
EDITED BY
DS F. LIPPMANN
DIRECTOR OF THE ROYAL PRINT- ROOM BERLIN
EONDON
Bernard Quaritch
S"
MDCCCLXXXVl
J- lie series of compositions by Hans Holbein
illustrating the power of death over mankind,
commonly called The Dance of Death was
never finished according to the Master's
original plan and the engravings have never
been published in a uniform fashion. Between
the years 7522 — 1526 Hans Lut^elburger the
unrivalled woodcutter, whose graver alone was
able to do proper justice to Holbein's designs
engraved a part of the woodcuts at Basle,
one of them the Duchess, bears his monogram.
It is now almost universally allowed that
both the illustrations for the Old Testament
as well as for the Dance of Death were
executed by Holbein and Lut^elburger for the
Lyons printer Melchior Trechsel. The greater
part of the former work and a considerable
portion of the other was ready in 1526, when
Lut~elburger's death and Holbein's departure
for England interrupted the undertaking.
Forty one of the engravings of the Dance
were then quite finished ; in two or three more
the wood-engraver's work was nearly done,
the designs were drawn on the blocks in some
of the others and Holbein probably left the
sketches for the remaining two.
The entire material, finished and unfinished,
was given to Trechsel, when he 1526 laid claim
to certain parts of Lut-elburger's property;
the blocks of the Dance of Death and all
belonging to it being brought to Lyons.
A number of proofs had however been taken
from the blocks before they had left Basle,
no doubt already during Lut-elburger's life-
time. These proofs are easy to recogni-e
by the fact of their being printed on one
side only, and by the clearness of the impres-
sions. It seems that only a very limited
number of such proofs were taken and that
they were not intended for sale, nevertheless
two different issues or editions of the proofs
can be distinguished, one edition of forty
woodcuts has German headings in cursive
type, while the other contains forty -one
engravings with headings printed in Gothic
letters; the additional cut is the Astro-
nomer: "Der Sternsecher" . Complete copies
of the proofs with cursive headings are in the
Museum at Basle and in the Paris Bibliotheque
Nationale and incomplete sets are to be found
in other public and private collections. But per-
haps the finest copy, both as regards the quality
of the impressions and their state of preservation,
is the one we have used for our facsimiles in the
Print Collection of the Royal Museum at Berlin.
Of the edition with Gothic headings only one
imperfect copy is known, in the Bibliotheque
Nationale at Paris.
The blocks remained in Trechsel's hands
for many years, before he seems to have
thought of publishing them. On the one hand
political considerations may have prevented
him from printing in such a very Catholic
town as Lyons, a work in which the Roman
4
clergy and the A";';?" of France are seen in
an unfavorable light. In the picture of the
Pope the Devil is sitting on the canopy over
the throne, waiting for death to sei^e the Pon-
tiff and eagerly watching for his soul. The
Emperor, who has the well known features of
Maxamilian is called away from his might and
glory, as the highest temporal power on earth,
a judge and rider of mankind , while the king,
the exact likeness of Francis I, is taken from
a sumptuous banquet, where death offers him
a cup of wine. These facts and the considera-
tion that the painter, who was employed at the
court of Henry VIII had a strong leaning
towards the reformed faith were no doubt the
cause that Holbein's name was omitted in all
editions of the Dance of Death, and allusion is
only made to Lut^elbur ger , in the preface
as an artist already deceased. Another reason
for the tardy publication of the blocks may have
been, that Trechsel wished to find an engraver
capable of cutting the remaining woodcuts, con-
formably with those engraved by Lutqelburger.
The first book- edition of Holbein's Dance of
Death, published by the brothers Melchior and
Caspar Trechsel finally appeared in 1538 with a
French text and the title: "Les Simulachres et
historiees Faces de la Mort, aidant elegamment
pourtraictes, que artificiellement imginees."
Trechsel had succeeded in obtaining writers
able to make an introduction and short French
verses to go with the pictures without offen-
ding the susceptibilities of a Catholic reader,
or rendering the book suspicious. In this
first edition he only published the 41 blocks
engraved by Lut^elburger. The next editions,
which were issued, two in 1452, — one n ' un a
Latin, the other with a French text, — and the
third, (the fourth of the Lyons series) in 1545
have also no further woodcuts, but the fifth
edition, (the second published in 1545 "Lugduni
subscuti colonieuse") has eight more scenes of
the Dance, vi^: the Soldier; the Gamester; the
Drinker; the Idiot Fool; the Highwayman;
the Blind Man; the Waggoner and the Outcast;
besides two groups of Children.
The later book-editions of the Dance of Death
contain several groups of Putti or children
6
bearing arms, drums and trumpets, emblems
of war, the chase and vineculture , in all
six compositions. It is not at first easy
to see the connection between these groups
and the Dance of Death , though the fact of
their being evidently designed by Holbein and
having the same dimensions as the woodcuts
of the Dance, that two at least seem to have
been engraved by Lut^elburger, (Nos. LII
and LIII of our phototypes) some of them
being found in all the editions published after
the year 1545, seems to prove that they were in-
tended to belong to the work, perhaps as a
joyous contrast to the tragical representations
of destruction and death. The poets, who
wrote the verses to Holbein's compositions,
managed to bring these groups of children
into a more or less strained connection with the
weird figures of the Dance. Four of these
groups of " Putti" are found in the edition
of 1545 an d in five other editions up to the
year 1554. In the next edition, which appeared
in 1562 two more groups are added, vij:
Nos. L VII and L VIII of our facsimiles, of
the two Litter No. LVII, designed like the
others by Holbein, is engraved by a very
feeble hand.
The above mentioned additional woodcuts
of the Dance published after 1545 va O r con-
siderably in treatment. The "Soldier" and the
"Was goner" are engraved in so close an
imitation of Lut^elburgers' style, that it seems
not improbable, that he himself cut the greatest
part of them, leaving only some details un-
finished. The technical treatment of the Blind
Man and the Highwayman is much inferior to
that of these plates and they are certainly not
by Lut^elburger, whilst the Drinker and the
Gamester are by quite another hand, still less
able to do justice to the finish and expression
of Holbein's design.
The Bride and Bridegroom, two plates only
published in the last edition of 1562, differ entirely
in exection from the rest; Holbein's general
outlines can still be distinguished, but he
does not seem to have drawn the design
himself on the blocks, or at most he could
only have made a hasty sketch, whilst they
8
have evidently been cut by an artist of the
Lyons school, who tried to imitate Lut-el-
hurger's style.
The aim of this little book is to give
amateurs and the public an exact facsimile of
the originals by means of a mechanical photo-
type process, and to form a complete collection
of Holbein's compositions of the Dance of
Death, which are never all to be found to-
gether in any one edition, except in the latest
of 1562. But this edition being very rare
and therefore hardly accesible to amateurs
and having besides the disadvantage of the
blocks being so much worn out and the ma-
jority of the copies so badly printed, that
they only give a faint idea of the artistic
value of the whole, we may therefore hope,
that our facsimiles will be welcome to the
admirers of the great artist. The first part
of this volume contains the reproductions of
the forty proofs with Uie headings in cursive
type , the second part, consists of the "Astro-
9
nomer" and the woodcuts added to the editions
after iS-l-5- The six groups of children,
which are found in the editions from 1545 to
7562, form the appendix.
The phototypes have been carefully executed
in the Chalco graphical Departement of the
Imperial Press at Berlin.
THE
XXXX PROOFS
DerBifcboff.
VII
THE BISHOP
T>er Th umberr.
\ in
THE CANON
T>er Apt
IX
THE ABBOT
Drt- Vfcrrhcrr.
x
THE PRIEST
rDw VrdiunL
XI
THE PREACHER
Der Munch.
XII
THE MONK
Do- Artzet •
XIII
THE PHYSICIAN
Dcr Key far*
XIV
THE EMPEROR
Tier Kunig.
xv
THE KING
Dfr Hertzog.
XVI
THE DUKE
Her Groff.
XVII
THE COUNT
Dcr Hitter.
XVIII
THE KNIGHT
Pier Vdelmdn
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XIX
THE NOBLEMAN
DerRdtfihm.
XX
THE ALDERMAN
Die [ch'pffung after ding.
THE CREATION
kdm Em m VaradyR.
ii
ADAM AND EVE IN PARADISE
Vfttrihtmg Adc Eue.
in
THE EXPULSION FROM PARADISE
Adam barvgt die erden ,
IV
ADAM TILLING THE GROUND
DcrBdpfi.
THE POPE
Tier Cardinal,
VI
THE CARDINAL
Der Kichter.
XXI
THE JUDGE
Tier Turforacb.
XXII
THE ADVOCATE
Tttr Kych mAn.
xxm
THE RK'II MAX
Der KMJJMffl.
XXIV
THE MERCHANT
Dtr Krlmer.
XXV
THE PEDLER
Ber Schiffmtn.
XXVI
THE MARINER
DerActcrmdn.
XXVII
THE PLOUGHMAN
Drr Alt man.
XXVIII
THE OLD MAN
DieKcy[crinn>
XXIX
THE EMPRESS
Die Kunigmn,
xxx
THE QUEEN
DicHertzogintt*
XXXI
THE DUCHESS
DuGrefftmu
XXXII
THE COUNTESS
Die Uddlrdm.
XXXIII
THE NOBLE LADY
T>ie Aptifinn.
XXXIV
THE ABBESS
Dfc TZunne*
XXXV
THE NUN
DdfiAltmeyh
xxxvi
THE OLD WOMAN
D<</? imgHnt.
XXXVII
THE YOUNG CHILD
Gebeynaflcrmcnfchtn
XXXVIII
THE END OF MANKIND
Tufinmgflgmcht.
xxxix
THE LAST JUDGEMENT
piewdpcntiefiTliotf!.
XL
THE ESCUTCHEON OF DEATH
ADDITIONAL WOODCUTS
FROM THE EDITIONS
PUBLISHED
BETWEEN 1538 AND I 5 6 2
XLI
THE ASTRONOMER
1538
XLII
THE SOLDIER
1545
XLIII
THE GAMESTER
1545
XLIV
THE DRINKER
1545
XLV
THE IDIOT FOOL
1545
XLVI
THE HIGHWAYMAN
'545
XL VII
THE BLIND MAX
!545
XLVIII
THE WAGGONER
1545
XLIX
THE OUTCAST
1545
THE BRIDE
1562
LI
THE BRIDEGROOM
1562
APPENDIX
THE
GROUPS OF CHILDREN
FROM THE EDITIONS
PUBLISHED
BETWEEN 1545 AND I 562
LII
LIII
LIV
LV
LVI
LVII
LVIII
INDEX
/ The Creation
II Adam and Eve in Paradise
III The Expulsion from Paradise
IV Adat?i tilling the ground
V The Pope
VI The Cardinal
VII The Bishop
VIII The Canon
IX The Abbot
X The Priest
XI The Preacher
XII The Monk
XIII The Physician
XIV The Emperor
XV The King
XVI The Duke
XVII The Count
XVIII The Knight
A7X
The Nobleman
XX
The Alderman
XXI
The Judge
XXII
The Advocate
XXIII
The Rich Man
XXIV
The Merchant
XXV
The Pedler
XXVI
The Mariner
XX VII
The Ploughman
XXVIII
The Old Man
XXIX
The Empress
XXX
The Queen
XXXI
The Duchess
XXXII
The Countess
XXXIII
The Noble Lady
XXXIV
The Abbess
XXXV
The Nun
XXXVI
The Old Woman
XXXVII
The Young Child
KXXVIII
The End of Mankind
XXXIX
The Last Judgement
XL
The Escutcheon of Death
XLI
The Astronomer
XL1I
The Soldier
XLIU
XLIV
XL V
XL VI
XL VII
XL VIII
XLIX
L
LI
LII-LVIII
The Gamester
The Drinker
The Idiot Fool
The Highwayman
The Blind Man
The Waggoner
The Outcast
The Bride
The Bridegroom
Groups of Children
JUMPING
"•■» •— •** t
T^
• iOV/0, 1981
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
Holbein, Hans s the Younger
The dance of death; ed.
Lippmann
