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How Did The Black Death Influence Medieval Art

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It was one of the most devastating pandemics in history that occurred in Medieval Europe. It affected the social and economic fabric of communities forever. It was the horrific rampage of sick and dying people that caused the annihilation of some eighty million people during the mid-14th century. One in every three Europeans succumbed from the plague. Thousands of patrons of the arts, painters, and craftsmen perished during the course of the festering plague, spreading throughout all aspects of Medieval culture, especially in art. The gruesome and ghastly ramifications of this era, brought with it a somber and grave darkness to the imaginations of writers and painters that would last for decades. Consequently, surviving daily living being …show more content…

Many artists captured the elaborate artistic depictions of the dying in their art, yet, there appeared to be a sense of lingering hope in a world overrun by lifeless decomposing bodies. The Black Death became a dreadful reality and also was a powerful influence of realism in art. It gave rise to the radical death iconography. Matthias Grunewald was an impressive German painter whose paintings were of Gothic tradition. They were filled with spiritual exuberance and daunting beauty. His work was meticulously executed and therefore, wealthy cleric and prosperous burghers were eager to commission him for his paintings. In the Iseheim Altarpiece, Grunewald depicts in fine detail with precision, a tormented decaying body of Christ riddled with black sores and abnormal postures of the hands and feet. It demonstrated the anguish, pain, and suffering of death brought to those of the Christian faith. The consequences of the Black Death were profound. In Francisco Traini's painting "Triumph of Death," ultimately, no matter who you are or how beautiful you are, this was clearly represented by the heap of corpses, cripples, beggars, and the crowned rulers that laid nearby. With each stroke of a brush, artists saw very little to be optimistic about because everyone was

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