Jewish Persecution in Krems, 1349

What it is

This work by Carl Swoboda, also spelled Karel Svoboda, shows the persecution of Jews in Krems in 1349. The Commons record says the violence was provoked by a plague outbreak. The image is described as a street scene in which armed men attack a bearded older man, a woman raises her arms, and several bodies lie on the ground. The file gives the date as around 1862, and the curator's note calls it a 19th-century painting.

Why it matters

During the Black Death, Jews in many places were blamed for the plague and attacked. This picture shows how a 19th-century artist understood one such attack. Because it was made more than five hundred years after 1349, it reflects the later artist's ideas as well as the events. Students can use it to think about scapegoating in times of disaster.

Look closer

• Who is attacking whom in this scene, and what weapons do they carry?
• Why might a painter made in 1862 choose to show this event?
• What does the picture leave out about the people who were attacked and why they were blamed?