The Child, from "The Dance of Death"

The Child, from "The Dance of Death" by Hans Holbein the Younger, is a seminal example of early 16th-century woodcut prints, created between 1521 and 1538. This iconic image belongs to Holbein’s influential series illustrating the Danse Macabre, a theme popularized across Europe in the late medieval and Renaissance periods that emphasizes the universality and inevitability of death. Younger, who maintained a highly successful career designing for print alongside his work as a court painter, masterfully translated complex theological concepts into accessible, detailed imagery through the demanding woodcut medium.

The piece vividly depicts the central premise of The Dance of Death: the abrupt, indiscriminate interruption of life. In this composition, the skeletal figure of Death, typically shown playing the role of a cruel jester or guide, appears to seize a bewildered young child, dragging the infant away from its life. Holbein utilized the delicate process of relief printing, relying on expert block cutters to achieve the remarkably fine detail and expressive anatomical lines that distinguish this high point in German Renaissance printmaking. Unlike earlier religious illustrations, the series by Younger showed Death claiming victims across every societal rank, from the Pope and Emperor down to the common peasant, tradesman, and, notably, the innocent child.

The original blocks for this renowned sequence were first published in Lyon, quickly cementing Holbein’s reputation across Europe as a masterful designer for the printed form. The intense visual drama and historical significance of the imagery have ensured its lasting influence on art history, making high-quality impressions, such as this one, valuable artifacts for study. This historically rich work of art resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a critical document of Reformation-era prints and cultural thought. As the work is now considered public domain, these seminal illustrations continue to be widely reproduced and studied today.