The Countess

Category

Library Item

Item no

28467

Title

The Countess

Description

The countess is shown dressing. A hand-maiden, on the right, hands the countess her clothes. The countess is oblivious to the fact that Death, the skeleton on the left, is draping a necklace of bones about her neck, and thus signalling that her life is soon to be over. The hourglass on the trunk also indicates that the countess's time is up. This image indicates that wealth and status do not beget immortality. It is also a warning against the folly of earthly distractions like vanity; if the countess was not so preoccupied with her outfit she might notice the truth of her imminent death.

Artist / maker

Bewick, John

Date

1789

Size

7.0 x 5.8 cm

Type

Wood cut

Location

Art and Design Library

This woodcut is one of a series by John Bewick, which was first published in 1789. The series was based on a sixteenth-century Dance of Death by Hans Holbein the Younger. Bewick's woodcuts were reprinted in 1795 and 1801 by the publisher Robert Bassam. In October 1803, the blocks were destroyed in a fire in Bassam's shop, but the prints were reproduced once more as a reissue by a Newcastle publisher in 1810. This particular image is from a 1789 edition which is held in Central Library's Dance of Death Collection.

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Related subjects

Clothing and dress > Garments > Dresses

Furnishings > Furniture

Furnishings > Furniture > Chests

Furnishings > Ornamentation > Hourglasses

People > Adults > Women

People > Body parts > Skeletons

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