Art Blackened

Art changed all across Europe before and after the black plague rolled through. A lot of knowledge was lost do to near 50% of the population being killed off. Before the Black Death the common people had just started learning to read and think things through for themselves. When the Black Death hit the people saw death as inevitability, and turned to god once more. Because the common man could no longer read and write they had to put their message through art, because the commoners dug deep into religion to save them, it’s no big surprise that the art would depict religious simples with a dark and emotional twist. Many people saw the Black Death as god’s wrath on the sinners, so repentance was a common practice around the time and was also commonly shown in art.

Sean Trinkle
Art History II