As a corrupt judge reaches out to accept a bribe from a rich man in dispute with a pauper, the skeletal hands of Death seize the judge’s staff, the symbol of his power, in order to break it, in this detail of a 1571 chiaroscuro morality painting by Jan Březnický on the front 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 have to confront their own mortality.
Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic: as a corrupt judge extends his hand to accept an expected bribe from a rich man in dispute with a pauper, Death, standing behind his chair, intervenes by seizing the judge’s staff, the symbol of his power, in order to break it, in this detail of a 1571 chiaroscuro morality painting by Jan Březnický on the façade of the Old Town Hall or Stará Radnice in Velké námestí, the Great Square. The artwork was inspired by “The Judge”, one of the disturbing woodcut images in the Dance of Death cycle by German artist Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543). In scenes re-working medieval Danse Macabre allegories of the inevitability and universality of death, in which people are invited to dance to their graves, the skeleton visualised by Holbein confronts dozens of individuals from all levels of society - from pope to ploughman - as they go about their everyday lives. The Renaissance front of the Old Town Hall is richly decorated with allegorical scenes urging Prachatice’s civic leaders to act wisely, justly and honourably, as well as warning judges against bribery. Below a line of eight virtues in red ovals are scenes painted in chiaroscuro, the use of light and dark in strong contrast to define three dimensional objects, with the judiciary and municipal leaders addressed in a series of Latin inscriptions. The two paintings by Březnický inspired by Holbein’s 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: 3008px × 2000px
Location: Prachatice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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