The King (from Danse Macabre)

A woodcut depicting a king seated at a formal dining table draped with a cloth, positioned before a backdrop patterned with fleurs-de-lis. A skeleton, representing Death, leans across the table, extending a drinking vessel toward the king, who holds an orb in his other hand. To the left, an attendant stands with hands held out, while a partial architectural view of a building is visible through a columned opening on the right. An hourglass rests on the table, emphasizing the passage of time.

This work is part of Holbein's 'Danse Macabre' series, which reflects the late medieval and early modern preoccupation with the universality of death and the vanity of worldly status. It illustrates the 'memento mori' tradition, common in 16th-century visual culture, reminding viewers that death is an inevitable equalizer regardless of social rank.