Intercession Sainte Parentèle, plague-stricken burgher detail

What it is

This is a detail from a painted, gilded wooden relief, a sculpture carved in the late Middle Ages in the Swabia region and shown at the Musée de Cluny during an exhibition of Swabian sculpture. It shows a man in a green and red checkered garment lying on the ground, his head propped on one arm and his face pale with reddish marks. A dark green pot sits beside him, and a small naked child sits in the background.

Why it matters

The Black Death (1346 to 1353) killed large numbers of people across Eurasia and North Africa. The curator's note describes this carving as a rare visual of plague victims from the era. It is a religious work, so it shows that the plague could appear in medieval religious art. The link to the plague is an interpretation of the image, so students should check the evidence before accepting it.

Look closer

• What details of the man's body and clothing might show that he is ill?
• Why might a religious carving include an ordinary townsman like this one?
• What does the image leave out about the people around him and how they cared for the sick?