Artwork analysis: The Black Death
The art piece I chose to write about is called “The black death.” The piece is a depiction of the black plague, with the plague personified as the black plague. In the piece arrows are used to strike those around her, specifically in the neck or the armpit areas likely where the infection would spread. Black death appeared in Europe around 1348, and it killed nearly a quarter to half the regions population. The black plague victims would experience flu-like symptoms at first and then would see, “a swell beneath their armpits and their groins.” The disease worked fast and killed fast. Normandy had lost nearly 70-80 percent of its population.
The pandemic ended up killing approximately half of Europe’s
population of all trades. Young, old,
rich, poor, religious or not. During the
time of the pandemic, William Langland, wrote in a poem saying, “God is deaf
nowadays and will not hear us. And for
our guilt her grind good men to dust.”
With social stability in pieces and slowly crumbling more as time went
on, people would question their faith. A
god that is punishing them all for their sins.
It is said that India experienced population growth during this
time. During this time, there was
prosperity of three powers, Delhi, Gulbarga, and Vijayanagara. The sultans had social economic ties with the
Middle east and people frequently traveled.
Even though there was significant travel between land, there is no
effect seen of the Black Death. During
this time a writer named Giovanni Boccaccio lived through the plague. The experience inspired him to write, “The
Decameron.” Which tells a story about
seven men and three women who escape the disease by fleeing to a villa outside
the city. This piece hits hard especially
during these times. The world is facing
a new pandemic that has all types of mixed emotions experienced from the black
plague. The art used to depict the black
plague is very impactful, and so will art now being looked at years later when
we look back into history.
Louisa Woodville, "The Black Death," in Smarthistory, December 30, 2015, accessed September 29,
2020, https://smarthistory.org/the-black-death/.
I find this piece quite creative. Imagine being the one to come up with the idea to make a complete thought provoking and emotional piece of the Black Plague. Not only that, but also depicting it in a way that seems altogether effortless and that can be easily understandable shows real talent.
ReplyDeleteBrenden! Very insightful post. I believe this is one of the most creative pieces I've seen( in my opinion). This is piece of work is still unfortunately very relevant today. However, I'm a bit confused. Is the figure is killing the people with the arrows because it is the Black Plague? Great post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Brendan! Very informative and even more interesting after the year we’ve had. It’s a very creative piece, a little confusing initially, but overall, very insightful.
ReplyDeleteOh how relevant this image is! If you've never also read about the story of St. Michael ridding Rome of a plague, I would highly recommend it! I wonder if back then they had the knowledge of lymph nodes is those areas... Though I digress. It's so hard in these times to believe that any good can come from this but this depiction truly engulfs the hopelessness we can feel during these times where we become so wounded by these dark and deathly figures. There will be hope yet! Very nice work.
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