The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.1562. Museo del Prado
The death
What is a pandemic?
A pandemic is an epidemic or disease affecting people or animals over a geographically large area, and it can be in a continent or even the entire world. Etymologically speaking, it should cover the entire world and affect us all.
The great impact that the Black Death pandemic had is confirmed in art, because there are many paintings and from many countries that reflected it, as you can see in this gallery of paintings.
The Black Death in the UK
A detail of The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.1562. Museo del Prado.
The Black Death in the Middle Ages
In the middle of the 14th century, Europe was experiencing a commercial revolution and was full of highly travelled routes that also connected with Asia. Then, the greatest plague epidemic in the history of Europe broke out, only comparable to the one that attacked the continent in the time of Emperor Justinian.
The plague had a terrifying impact: on the one hand, it was unexpected, unknown and fatal, its origin and therapy were unknown; on the other hand, it affected everyone, not distinguishing between rich and poor.
The four horsemen of the apocalypse
The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are represented in this Dürer painting. One of them (The Death) carries the pestilence.
The four horsemen ofthe apocalypse. Albrecht Dürer. Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karisruhe Germany. 1498.
Citizens of Tournai burying victims of the Black Death. Miniature by Pierart dou Tielt, c. 1353.
High mortality
During the Black Death so many people died that it was difficult to bury them, and the bodies were piled up as we can see in the following painting.
The Plague of Florence, 1348, a 19th century engraving by Luigi Sabatelli. Wellcome collection. https://revista.suteba.org.ar/2020/07/01/las-pestes-en-la-literatura/