Impact of Black Death on Art
The Black Death, commonly referred to as the Black Plague, is among the most devastating epidemics in history that resulted in over 200 million deaths in Europe in the 14th century. The plague wiped away more than sixty percent of Europe’s population; hence it took the continent over one hundred years to be reinstated to where it was previously. The plague is believed to have been caused by a bacterium known scientifically as Yersinia pestis. The plague was so rapid that it had crumbled the social structures in Europe. Art was among the areas that were among the most impacted aspects of European culture.
It is believed that renowned artists like Andrea Pisano and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, among other upcoming artists, succumbed to the plague. The plague, in many ways, therefore, had a significant impact on Italian art in the 14th century. According to Millard Meiss, a historian, the epidemic resulted in the return to what can be described as “hieratic linearity in religious art.” Artists shifted from the rounded forms that characterized renowned works of artists such as Giotto to the old fashioned approaches (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018). The shift was ascribed to the developing reliance on the traditional religious values in the event of the disaster that was interpreted as a punishment from God, for the decline in moral guidance.
One of the art pieces that inspired Meiss into this deduction was Andrea di Cione’s “Orcagna,” which means archangel, which was created under Tommaso Strozzi’s patronage. A significant feature of this art was the central image of Jesus Christ. The art clearly portrays the image of the final judgment beyond time and space. The picture is more dominated by line and color than rounded forms, which were the developing art styles by the time of the plague. While recent historians have attempted to oppose Meiss’s theory of the contextual change regarding it as an outgrowth of the existing style, there still exists evidence to support the fact that stylistic change is influenced by the situation in society (Stokstad & Cothren, 2018). Meiss’s theory is also supported by artistic works such as Strozzi that was characterized by the themes of death and judgment and the promise of salvation and sanctity. Similar religious themes are also developed in narrative scenes on predella: which was characterized by Jesus’s miraculous walk on water and Henry II’s salvation due to a pious donation.
Art is commonly described as the mirror of the society in the sense that it is developing is inspired by the artist’s perception of what is happening in society. It follows, therefore, that both negative and positive events characterized in a community can adversely affect the themes represented in the art. The Black Death, for example, was regarded in the fourteenth century as a punishment from God due to the immorality in society and this reflects clearly on the resultant art pieces: that were characterized by themes such as judgment and salvation. While it affects the themes represented in the art piece, it is also true that the style is affected. This is also reflected in the Italian arts that were preceded by the Black Plague, whereby artists assumed a more conservative approach in their way of thinking that was in line with their traditional values.
