Old Woman

1651

Wenceslaus Hollar after Hans Holbein the Younger after Abraham van Diepenbeeck

Associated Names
Wenceslaus Hollar

Artist, Bohemian, 1607 - 1677

Abraham van Diepenbeeck

Artist After, Flemish, 1596 - 1675

Hans Holbein the Younger

Artist After, German, 1497/1498 - 1543

This is a print depicting several skeletons in a macabre scene. In the center is a rectangular image showing two skeletons standing near an old, hunched woman. One of the skeletons is wearing a crown of leafy branches, and the other appears to be playing a xylophone that hangs around its bony neck. The woman is facing the right, wearing a long cloak and holding a walking stick. On the ground in front of her is an hourglass. The landscape around the woman and skeletons is rocky, with tall plants on the left and distant mountains on the right under a wide, cloudy sky. Below this central image is a line of text. The text and image are bordered by a light frame, which is surrounded by candles and statues. On the left and right are two sculpted figures, one holding an hourglass and a scythe, and the other holding a thin ring, which upon closer inspection is revealed to be a serpent biting its tail. Above the central image are drapery and candlesticks, as well as large vases holding flowers. At the bottom of the print, below the line of text, is another skeletal figure laying on the ground, a shovel and hoe laying by its legs. The background of the print is beige paper.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching with border "Time and Eternity" (Pennington 233C)

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.4903

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 1154, State i/iv

  • Series Title

    Dance of Death [Pennington 233-262]


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Fritz Rumpf [1856-1927], Potsdam (Lugt 2161); (sale, C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, May 7-9, 1928, lot 588); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1760b), 1928; gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1982

  • Pennington, Richard. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etched Work of Wenceslaus Hollar 1607-1677. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982.

1996

  • The New Hollstein German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, 1400-1700. (Wenceslaus Hollar, Simon Turner, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. 1154, state i/iv.

Wikidata ID

Q64962500

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