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Open 10:00–5:00

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
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

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

Letter R

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 "R". The design features a scene within the confines of the letter. On the left side, a figure in a jester-like outfit is holding a stick or staff, with a skull at the bottom. On the right side, another figure is wearing a garland or wreath and is carrying a large object on its shoulder. The figures are surrounded by ornate carvings and motifs, characteristic of elaborate woodcut or engraved letter designs found in old manuscripts or books.

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Artwork overview

Medium

woodcut
Credit Line

Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number

1943.3.9427
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

Q65020662

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