Letter I

c. 1523

Hans Lützelburger after Hans Holbein the Younger

Associated Names
Hans Lützelburger

Artist, German, active 1517-1526

Hans Holbein the Younger

Artist After, German, 1497/1498 - 1543

The image shows a small, square woodcut with two figures around a large letter 'I' in the center. The figure on the left is a bearded person in a long robe with fur around the collar. They are gesturing upwards with one hand, and the other hand may be on their chest. The person has short, wavy hair and a bushy beard. To the right is a skeleton in tattered garments, facing the bearded person. The skeleton appears animated with clear skull and bone structure. There are no visible objects held by either figure. The background has a lined pattern, possibly suggesting an interior space or abstract setting, with the figures in the foreground.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.9419

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Passavant, Vol. III.373, no. 3

  • Series Title

    Alphabet of Death [1943.3.9411-9434]

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1933

  • An Exhibition of Prints from the Collection of Lessing J. Rosenwald, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, 1933, no. 67.

1945

  • Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, IN, 1945, no. 34.

1965

  • Master Prints from the Rosenwald Collection, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1965, no. 47.

1974

  • Europe in Torment: 1450-1550, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, 1974, no. 30, repro.

Bibliography

1860

  • Passavant, Johann David. Le peintre-graveur, contenant l'histoire de la gravure sur bois, sur metalet au buring jusque vers la fin du XVI siecle .... 6 vols. Leipzig: Rudolph Weigel, 1860-1864.

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts, ca. 1400-1700. Vol. XIV B. Roosendaal, 1988: no. 146.

Wikidata ID

Q65020644

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