Holbein and the Dead Christ

Dead Christ in the Tomb. Photo: Museum of Art, Basel
500 years ago, Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) created the Dead Christ in the Tomb (Der Tote Christus im Grab), which has been part of the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, now the Kunstmuseum, since its foundation in 1662.
300 years later, in 1821, the Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostojevsky (1882-1881) was born. The painting by Holbein makes a memorable appearance in his novel The Idiot, which is based on a visit by the writer to the Basel Art Museum.
On the occasion of this double anniversary, the museum is organising a presentation on the Dead Christ in the Tomb.
New scientific findings on the painting will be made public for the first time. Historical photographs and texts as well as quotations from Dostojevsky’s novel The Idiot will complement the small exhibition.