The Peasant (or Ploughman), from "The Dance of Death"

The Peasant (or Ploughman), from "The Dance of Death," by Hans Holbein the Younger, is a highly detailed woodcut executed between 1521 and 1538. This print belongs to Holbein’s influential Dance of Death series, a seminal body of Northern Renaissance art that utilizes the medieval allegory of Danse Macabre to critique social structures and emphasize the inevitability of mortality. Younger employed the demanding technique of the woodcut to achieve remarkable clarity and minute detail, making this series one of the most recognized contributions to the history of graphic prints.

The scene portrays a dramatic vignette of working life centered on the theme of Farms. A sturdy peasant, focused entirely on his task, guides his team of Horses pulling a heavy Plow through a rugged field. Younger contrasts the physical labor of the Ploughman with the chilling presence of a Skeleton, representing Death, who violently drives the team onward using a whip. This brutal intrusion highlights the series’ central message that death spares no profession, intervening even upon the essential tasks of rural existence. The composition is characterized by its dramatic action and precise execution, capturing the swiftness and unexpectedness of fate.

As a significant example of 16th-century graphic output, this specific piece resides in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The universal appeal and technical precision of Holbein’s original designs ensured their widespread circulation across Europe. Today, due to the age and classification of this work, high-resolution reproductions of these influential prints are frequently available through public domain resources, allowing modern audiences worldwide to study Younger’s masterful draftsmanship and narrative power.