Holbein the Younger: 190 Plates

Hans Holbein the Younger was German painter, draftsman, and designer renowned for the precise rendering of his drawings and the compelling realism of his portraits. Holbein was one of the greatest portraitists and most exquisite draftsmen of all time. Holbein was associated early on with the Basle publishers and their humanist circle of acquaintances. In Basle, Holbein was also active in designing woodcuts for title pages and book illustrations. He increased his reputation as a book illustrator by a series of woodcuts for the German translation of the Bible by Martin Luther. The artist's most famous work in this area is a series of 41 scenes illustrating the medieval allegorical concept of the Dance of Death. Its scenes display an immaculate sense of order, packing much information about the lifestyles and habits of Death's victims into a very small format. He completed also a series of pen-and-ink sketches for The Praise of Folie by the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus.