The Robber (Danse Macabre)

In this woodcut print, a skeletal figure dressed in the attire of a highwayman—wearing a feathered cap, doublet, and carrying a sword at his hip—grabs a peasant woman by the throat. The woman, whose face is contorted in fear with her mouth open, carries a large basket balanced on her head and clutches a small bundle or roll in her arms. They are situated in a dense, dark forest with vertical tree trunks filling the background. The style uses heavy, high-contrast black and white hatching to delineate form and shadows.

Part of the iconic 'Danse Macabre' series by Holbein, this work represents the Late Medieval and Renaissance preoccupation with the universality of death, illustrating that no social class—not even the criminal or the common laborer—is exempt from the grave.