De koningin en de Dood
c. 1680
Medium
etching
Dimensions
75; 55
About this artwork
De koningin staat voor het paleis en schreeuwt. De Dood danst in vrouwenkleren naast haar met een zandloper in zijn hand.
Art Historical Context
Wenceslaus Hollar's etching *De koningin en deood* (The Queen and Death), created around 1680, captures a dramatic confrontation between mortality and power. In this tiny yet striking print—measuring just 75mm high by 55mm wide—the queen stands before her palace, screaming in terror. Beside her dances Death, whimsically disguised in women's clothing, clutching an hourglass that symbolizes the relentless passage of time. This scene draws visitors into a moment of high drama, blending horror with dark humor. Hollar, a masterful Bohemian etcher who spent much of his career in England, was renown...
About the Artist
Wenceslaus Hollar · 1607–1677
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-1677) was a prolific Bohemian etcher who became one of the most accomplished printmakers of the seventeenth century. Born in Prague, he trained under Matthäus Merian in Frankfurt before entering the service of Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel, in 1636. Hollar spent most of his career in England, where he produced approximately 2,740 etchings documenting an extraordinary range...