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Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Starting June 3
Exhibitions & Events
Featured event:

Block Party
Join us June 6
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Letter P

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

This is a drawing of a decorative initial letter 'P'. The design features two skeletal figures on each side of the letter. The figures are engaged in a dynamic pose, with one holding a banner or flag while the other is gesturing. The skeletal forms are detailed with attention to anatomical elements such as ribs and joint articulation. The letter 'P' is centered with flourishes blending into the surrounding figures. The composition suggests a Gothic or medieval influence, with figures and lettering enclosed within a rectangular border emphasizing ornate typography found in illuminated manuscripts.

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Artwork overview

Medium

woodcut
Credit Line

Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number

1943.3.9425
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

Q65020659

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