Ars Moriendi 1470 - 1480

Nicolaus Gotz created this woodcut print called Ars Moriendi in the 15th century, a time when the bubonic plague, or Black Death, was a recent memory. This work translates to “The Art of Dying,” a subject which was top of mind in the late Medieval period. The print depicts a man on his deathbed, surrounded by figures both human and demonic. This image vividly captures the intersection of the personal and the spiritual that shaped the late medieval experience. The composition explores the emotional intensity of this liminal moment between life and death. Ars Moriendi invites us to contemplate our own mortality and the cultural narratives that surround death. It serves as a reminder of our shared human experiences and the existential questions that have long preoccupied humankind.