Hans Holbein's dance of death, Preacher

t would seem that the preacher is not successful in getting his message through: The woman in the left side of the picture is about to doze off, and the man leans his heads against the pulpit, sleeping soundly. Most other members of the congregation have rather interesting expressions in their face. Is it a coincidence(1) that the Bible quote above the picture in Scharffenbergs book is from Daniel 12? »Viel auß den, die im Staub der Erden Schlafen, die sollen wieder werden Erwachen« — or in English: many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.

Death is dressed in a stole (long strip of material worn by Catholic ecclesiastics). It's a bit difficult to see what Death has in his hand. Some commentators suggest that it's a bone, or maybe a jaw-bone, symbolizing that the preacher uses his own jaw too much. Alfred Woltmann (Holbein And His Time, 1872) even states that Death is about to strike the preacher with the bone: »Death is standing behind the orator in the pulpit and is raising a jaw-bone in his hand, to strike him down, even before he has pronounced "amen"«.

Neither is Douce right that the hand is »very distinguishable in Hollar's print«. As usual Hollar has copied Birckmann, where Death holds his empty hand with the fingers raised. On the other hand Mechel has given Death a large bone in his hand, and the letter-press for Mechel's edition was re-used by Deuchar, Wildridge and Pseudo Bewick. The description of the preacher says »Death, who is behind him with a stole about his neck, holds over his head the bone of a dead body«. This explains why these three copyists have followed the letter-press and equipped Death with a bone — but they have done so in each their fashion.

Again, it is to be wished that Holbein had added a title and a dialogue, which unambiguously could tell us, what the picture is all about.

he picture of the preacher in the pulpit is reminiscent of a woodcut that was used in several booklets in the beginning of the 1500's. To the left is »On Aplas von Rom« (=without indulgences from Rome) from 1518 and to the right is »Beclagung Hanns Schwalb« from 1521. Here too, we see the hooded congregation sitting on their small stools. There's even an hourglass behind the preacher — just like in Holbein's picture.

The preacher stands in the pulpit selling a letter of indulgence, the people at the table to the right are filling out the letters of indulgence, and a churchgoer in the middle of the picture throws the payment into a box. In the middle of the church is a cross with a crown of thorns, but Jesus has left the church. All this godlessness may explain why the congregation in Holbein's picture have such sleepy eyes, wandering glances and even hostile facial expressions.

The little pamphlets were published more or less anonymously, but Heinrich Vogtherr is thought to have cut the frontispiece. In that case, it must have been odd for Vogtherr, when in 1544 he made his copy of Holbein's dance of death and now was copying a copy of his own preacher.

Variations: Hollar's hourglass is so indistinct that it's hard to see it. Deuchar has missed the hourglass, when he copied Hollar.
Deuchar, the unknown English artist and Pseudo Bewick have all given Death a bone in his hand, as described by the letter-press (which they took from Christian de Mechel). But notice how the position of hand and bone are different on these latter three variants.


Birckmann: Empty hands; visible hourglass	Hollar: Empty hands; indistinct hourglass	Hollar 1816: Empty hands; very indistinct hourglass	Deuchar: A little bone; no hourglass	Unknown artist: A little bone; very indistinct hourglass	Pseudo Bewick: Large bone

Various Artists

Is it a coincidence?. . . : Yes, it is. But it's a rather amusing coincidence.

The Preacher

Various Artists