Ambrosius Holbein's memento mori map for Sir Thomas More's Utopia. The meanings of a masterpiece of early sixteenth century graphic art.
This paper describes how, and asks why, the Renaissance artist Ambrosius Holbein hid a skull within the overall design of his woodcut map of Sir Thomas More's Utopia. (Fig. 2) This map was prepared for the 1518 Froben edition of the book, and was probably commissioned by Erasmus of Rotterdam. Its identification now is made easier by the habits of interpretation with which all dentists are equipped thanks to their skill in dental radiology, and by the recognition of teeth appearing in an unlikely disguise.
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D001530:Belgium; D001878:Books, Illustrated / Q000266:history*; D003643:Death; D049669:History, 16th Century; D008377:Maps as Topic; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D008512:Medicine in the Arts; D009426:Netherlands; D011904:Rare Books / Q000266:history*; D012886:Skull; D006113:United Kingdom