The Plague of Elliant – Sketch of a Cart carrying the Dead 1859

This pencil sketch, "The Plague of Elliant – Sketch of a Cart carrying the Dead," is a preliminary study by Sir John Everett Millais for his larger painting, "The Plague of Elliant." The drawing depicts a cart with a chain attached to the front, loaded with bodies, highlighting the grim reality of the plague. Created in 1859, it foreshadows the powerful imagery that would characterize the finished work, capturing the chilling atmosphere of a time of death and despair.