Nowadays, thanks to antibiotics, wonder drugs unavailable to medieval and early modern Europeans, bubonic plague is easily treated and no longer a grave public health threat. Yet, even with the availability of modern wonder drugs, human society remains threatened by other forms of deadly, contagious “plagues,” such as COVID-19, for which there exists no effective “silver bullet” treatment. The central theme of this talk is the response of the visual arts in Europe during the plague period from the mid-14th to the early 18th centuries, particularly in Italy. The disease decimated as much as half of Europe’s population and became a major theme for painters who created plague-related devotional art in the form of frescoes, paintings and sculptures, as well as architects who designed churches, particularly in Venice, to thank God for deliverance from major outbreaks of the plague. It will illuminate the various aesthetic, social, and religious concerns that preoccupied artists, patrons, and the general populace during this period and will feature the works of several artists who personally experienced the plague in Italy.
