Between 1523 and 1525 Hans Holbein the Younger made a series of woodcuts in which Death intrudes on 34 people, from pope to ploughman. Each gets a specific fate: a knight is skewered by a lance, a duchess is dragged from her bed, and a judge's staff of power is snapped in two. Earlier Dances of Death showed people dancing with skeletons, but Holbein's figures respond realistically: the old man is stoical, the knight fights, and the miser throws up his arms. The blocks were tiny, about the size of four postage stamps, and were cut by Hans Lützelburger. The series was published in Lyons in 1538 and went on to inspire artists from Rubens to Millet and writers like Dickens.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.