The Queen, from The Dance of Death

Art Historical Context

Hans Holbein the Younger designed this woodcut, *The Queen*, around 1526 as part of his celebrated *Dance of Death* series, later cut by Hans Lützelburger and published in 8. Created during the turbulent years of the Reformation, the print captures the era’s preoccupation with mortality amid recurring plagues and social upheaval. In the image, a crowned queen stands gracefully while a skeletal figure approaches with an hourglass, underscoring that even royalty cannot escape death’s inevitable summons. The small woodcut format—measuring just under three inches—allowed these powerful images to ...