1858 Holbein Dance of Death: The Knight

Read in line with Douce’s moral framework, this composition sharpens the critique of martial glory: the knight is struck down not in retreat or dishonour but at the height of action, showing how little individual bravery alters the final outcome. There is an hourglass on the ground, denoting that the knight’s time has run out. Death’s lance through the side echoes both battlefield wounds and devotional imagery of piercing, suggesting that war itself is the instrument by which Death claims even the most valiant, rendering chivalric ideals tragically futile.

This is an antique item from the 1858 edition of Holbein's Dance of Death, published in London by Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. See photo for exact citation.

Details

• Subject: Plate XXXI, The Knight, from Holbein's Dance of Death

• Artist: After Hans Holbein the Younger (designs about 1525–26)

• Technique: Wood engraving by Bonner and Byfield, first cut for Douce's 1833 edition

• Source: Leaf from Holbein's Dance of Death, with Francis Douce's dissertation (London: Henry G. Bohn, 1858)

• Text: Latin verse from Job 34 and Douce's description, printed below the cut

• Era: 1858, antique

Condition

Good. The paper has yellowed evenly with age (toning); no foxing to the image. The leaf came from the book's loose pages and shows a little evidence of that.

Please note

• Comes in the black mat with the gold border shown in the photos.

• Blank on the back.