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What does a plague look like? What images correspond to it? Just as visual synonyms for the pandemic are formed in the media, the depiction of epidemics in the visual arts is a recurring topos, as art has always been a seismograph for social occurrences, moods, or political developments. This article shows how epidemics have been reflected in art history and illustrates three different representations using graphics from the graphic collection Mensch und Tod (Human and Death) at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf as examples.

Every historical period has its characteristic epidemic. In the Middle Ages, up to one-third of the European population died of the plague epidemic called the Black Death (1346 to 1353). Later, cholera, Spanish flu, and AIDS terrified the population. Every epidemic triggered social changes and functioned as a catalyst for developments, which were already taking place. In addition to the often-devastating impact on life and health, epidemics and pandemics hold potential for innovations. The Black Death certainly led to a rising standard of living and is even said to have accelerated the development of printing. In the 19th century, cholera was considered to be a motor of sanitary reforms, such as central water supply and sewerage. The current SarsCoV-2 pandemic clearly shows that epidemics are still part of human history
and not just, as has long been believed, limited to the Global South.

Der aufkommende Welthandel, Auswanderungswellen und immer größer werdende Dampfschiffe machten europäische Hafenstädte zu Knotenpunkten der frühen Globalisierung und zu Vorreitern der Moderne. Auch alle Widersprüche dieser Epoche schienen sich hier zu manifestieren: Kommen und Gehen, Vergnügen und Einsamkeit, Reichtum und Armut, modernste Technik und unqualifizierte Arbeit. Der Band erkundet das Hafenplaster in vielfältigen Essays von Kunsthistoriker:innen bis Sprachwissenschaftler:innen und bietet durch die humorvollen und einfühlsamen Illustrationen von Paulina Rauh einen wahren Augenschmaus.