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Hans Holbein the Younger

The Last Judgment

c. 1526
woodcut

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In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of July 2026

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FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

In this final, dramatic episode in Hans Holbein’s Dance of Death series Christ sits on high, surrounded by heavenly figures, poised to send the resurrected dead to their ultimate destinations of heaven or hell. The end of humanity’s time on Earth connects with its beginnings: bodies here are as naked and vulnerable as those of Adam and Eve at the Creation. Awakened from their graves and reanimated, the dead raise their hands beseechingly to Christ. Those judged to have lived virtuously will go to their resurrection, a sort of spiritual rebirth in heaven, while the sinful face eternal torment.

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More by Hans Holbein the Younger

Lady Lee (Margaret Wyatt, born about 1509)Lady Lee (Margaret Wyatt, born about 1509)Portrait of a Man in Royal LiveryPortrait of a Man in Royal LiveryLady Rich (Elizabeth Jenks, died 1558)Lady Rich (Elizabeth Jenks, died 1558)Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560)Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560)Portrait of a Young WomanPortrait of a Young WomanErasmus of RotterdamErasmus of RotterdamBenedikt von Hertenstein (born about 1495, died 1522)Benedikt von Hertenstein (born about 1495, died 1522)Portrait of a Man (Sir Ralph Sadler?)Portrait of a Man (Sir Ralph Sadler?)

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