The Plague (1900)
by Arnold Böcklin
Swiss, 1827-1901 

Arnold Böcklin was a Swiss Symbolist painter whose work is known for its powerful imagery of fantasy, mythology, and allegory. 

“The Plague” depicts a grim scene of Death, personified as a spectral figure, riding a bat-like creature through the streets of a medieval town. The painting is rendered in shades of pale green, often associated with decay, against a backdrop of black and dull browns. This color palette enhances the macabre atmosphere of the scene. The only vivid color is the red cloth of a woman in the mid-foreground, who lies across another victim of the plague, emphasizing the sudden and indiscriminate nature of death.

Böcklin’s fascination with themes of war, pestilence, and death is evident in this work, which reflects the anxieties of the late 19th century. His paintings often explore the darker aspects of the human psyche, presaging the Symbolism movement that would influence artists well into the 20th century.

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