A finely-dressed rich man involved in a legal dispute with a pauper reaches into his purse for a bribe to offer to a corrupt judge in this detail of a 1571 chiaroscuro painting by Jan Březnický on the Renaissance façade of the Old Town Hall at Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic. The artwork was inspired by “The Judge”, a woodcut in the Dance of Death cycle by German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), in which people from all levels of society suddenly confront their own mortality.
Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic: a finely-dressed rich man involved in a legal dispute with a pauper reaches into his purse for a bribe to offer to a corrupt judge in this detail of a 1571 chiaroscuro painting by Jan Březnický on the Renaissance façade of the Old Town Hall or Stará Radnice in Velké námestí, the Great Square. Elsewhere in the artwork, the Skeleton of Death, appearing behind the seated judge, seizes his staff to break the symbol of his power. The painting was inspired by “The Judge”, among the images in the disturbing Dance of Death woodcut cycle by German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). In scenes re-working medieval Danse Macabre allegories of death’s inevitability and universality, in which people are invited to dance to their graves, the skeleton visualised by Holbein confronts individuals from all levels of society - from pope to ploughman - as they go about their everyday lives. The front of the Old Town Hall is richly decorated with allegorical morality scenes urging Prachatice’s civic leaders and judges to act wisely, justly and honourably. The judiciary and municipal leaders are addressed in Latin inscriptions below a line of eight virtues in red ovals and various scenes painted in chiaroscuro, the use of light and dark in strong contrast to define three dimensional objects. The paintings by Březnický inspired by the Dance of Death fill spaces between the ground floor windows. Prachatice, founded in the 13th century, was once a wealthy trading town that gained from its location at the end of the Golden Trail trade route from Bavaria. It became one of Bohemia’s richest towns thanks to its right to levy taxes on travelling merchants and a monopoly to store salt, essential in medieval times for preserving food.
Size: 2000px × 3008px
Location: Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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