Trionfo della morte 1450

Lo Scheggia painted this 'Triumph of Death' in Florence, Italy sometime in the 15th century. It gives visual form to a common medieval concept. The image of death appears throughout this era's artwork, literature, and theater. The painting depicts a group of wealthy nobles enjoying leisurely pursuits on horseback. These figures are seemingly unaware of the wild, mountainous landscape. The painting emphasizes the transience of life. It's a moralizing allegory aimed at the upper classes who indulge in courtly love and falconry. How did the plague outbreaks impact the art in the 14th and 15th centuries? What role did the mendicant orders of the church, like the Franciscans and Dominicans, play in the production and reception of the image of death? Social historians draw on an array of resources from theological treatises to the confraternity records to explore the historical context of the painting. It's these historical connections that make the art come alive.