The Physician c. 16th century

Curator: This is "The Physician" by Hans Holbein the Younger. It's part of a series, and we don't have a precise date for it. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: Stark. The linear composition, stark contrast between the black lines and the bare paper, casts a pall of gloom over the scene. Curator: Holbein was a master of printmaking, and the process allowed for wide distribution of these images. Consider the context: the plague, social anxieties about health and mortality… Editor: Note how the lines create texture and volume, defining the characters and space in a surprisingly realistic way given the medium. The composition is very balanced. Curator: Absolutely, and the tools of the physician – books, shelves, strange flasks – are presented alongside Death himself. Holbein cleverly juxtaposes them. The sleeping dog adds a touch of domestic realism to the scene. Editor: Death holds a vial, almost mockingly offering medicine, disrupting any sense of comfort we might find in the image. Curator: Indeed. Seeing the labor and dissemination of these images gives insight into societal concerns. Editor: And the form, so carefully rendered, reinforces the unsettling reality.