The Vale of Disease 1807

Curator: This is John Flaxman's "The Vale of Disease," held in the Tate Collections. Look at the raw emotion captured in this simple line drawing. Editor: Bleak. Utterly bleak. It reminds me of being sick as a child, a jumble of limbs and aches, but visualized with a chilling, almost clinical detachment. Curator: It's an illustration for Dante's Inferno, placing us in the depths of hell, amidst the suffering and moral decay. Flaxman offers a critique of societal neglect and the dehumanizing effects of disease. Editor: The figures seem to blend into one another, losing their individuality. Like a bad dream. It’s clever how he uses such delicate lines to depict such intense suffering. It feels like he’s barely holding it all together. Curator: Flaxman's work speaks to enduring themes of inequality and the human condition, prompting reflections on how illness intersects with social justice. Editor: It’s a stark reminder of our vulnerability, isn’t it? Makes you want to wash your hands and call your mother.