Holbein's Dance of Death consists of a series of woodcuts, generally regarded as the best but by no means the first or the only representation of this subject. The series begins with the creation of the world and of Adam and Eve, the first humans which according to the Bible were originally immortal, but which were condemned to live and die as mortals once they were expelled from the Garden of Eden as a consequence of their disobedience to God.
This first woodcut in a series by Holbein must be interpreted in injunction with the very last woodcut, in which humanity is resurrected for the Final Judgment and thereafter shall never know death again.In this woodcut by Holbein, God is shown creating the universe including Adam and Eve. It is the idyllic era of the world, when death has no dominion over Humankind. That will soon change, with the Temptation of Eve, the Fall, and the expulsion of the first humans from the paradise on earth which was the Garden of Eden.
In case you are wandering why some areas of the illustration have been blanked out, this is because Google's adsense policies require me to block out the naughty bits.
A Biblical verse in Latin below this woodcut alludes to the Biblical story that God formed man from mud.
Next: The Fall of Man
Holbein - the Dance of Death.
