The child
Child
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Icones Historiarum Veteris Testamenti, Leviticus 1: God teaches Moses how to present burnt sacrifices.
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Icones Historiarum Veteris Testamenti, Leviticus 10: The sons of Aaron offer strange fire before the LORD.
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other and sister look in desperation, while Death carries the youngest sibling away.
The rundown shack shows their extreme poverty, and yet the thought of having
one mouth less to feed does not seem to offer consolation.
Death leaves the hourglass behind - maybe because the child is the last in the dance.
The way of showing fire and smoke, with the smoke twisting like a cobra is typical of Holbein.
We see the same in his illustration of Leviticus chapter 1 (to the left) and chapter 10 (to the right).
Holbein does the same thing with waves.
Variations: Birckmann lets Death take the hourglass along and proudly raise it as a trophy.
The same is done by Valvasor, Hollar and Deuchar.
Various Artists
Dances of death
Holbein's dance of death
Child
