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Secondary sourcePainting1901

Pesta Plate 5 from Svartedauen

Theodor Kittelsen · 1901

A dark drawing by Theodor Kittelsen from his 1901 book 'Svartedauen' (The Black Death), showing two men in a rowboat, one praying and one reading.

An imaginative 1901 scene linking faith and fate to the fear caused by the Black Death.

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Dark etching-style illustration of a rowboat on grey water. A bearded man in a cap on the left holds his hands together in prayer. On the right, a hooded, cloaked figure hunched over and reads an open book, with a reed or oar lying across the boat.
Theodor Kittelsen, Pesta plate from Svartedauen, 1901. National Library of Norway.

About this source

What it is

This plate is from Svartedauen (The Black Death), a 1901 illustrated book by Norwegian artist Theodor Kittelsen. It shows two men in a rowboat: one bearded man with his hands together in prayer, and a hooded, cloaked figure reading an open book.

Why it matters

Kittelsen's illustrations show how the Black Death was remembered through folklore and religious imagery long after the pandemic. The hooded reader may represent death or fate, while the praying man reflects how people turned to faith in the face of the plague's terror.

Look closer

  • What might the hooded figure reading a book represent?
  • Why is the other man praying?
  • What does the setting on open water suggest about danger or uncertainty?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of The Black Death on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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