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Original fileThe Abbot and Death (Dance of Death)
3. Holbein death Abbot.300dpi
About This Work
This woodcut depicts a skeletal figure of Death pulling the hooded abbot toward the left with one hand, while using the other to seize the abbot's ornate crosier. The abbot, wearing traditional monastic robes, stands with his mouth agape in an expression of distress, one hand raised in a gesture of alarm. They are positioned beneath a gnarled tree, from which an hourglass hangs, symbolizing the finality of time. The background features a simple hilly landscape.
This work is a plate from Hans Holbein the Younger's 'Les Simulachres & Historiees Faces de la Mort' (Dance of Death), a pivotal Renaissance series that popularized the memento mori motif by depicting death claiming individuals from all strata of society.
Inscriptions(Latin, Italian)
Ipse morietur : quia non habuit disciplina, & in multitudine stultitiæ suæ decipietur. P R O V E R. V. Gli conuerrà pur gir dietro à la morte: E perche disciplina mai non hebbe, Ne la sua gran stoltitia fu per forte Trouato, e fece, quel ch'ogn'vn far debbe
Translation
He shall die, because he hath not had discipline, and in the multitude of his folly, he shall be deceived. (Proverbs 5:23). // He will have to follow death: And because he never had discipline, nor was his great folly found to be strong, he did what everyone must do.
Connected Texts
Proverbs 5:23
The Latin text quoted above the image is the Vulgate version of Proverbs 5:23, which warns against the consequences of lacking discipline.