“The Plague Doctor from Rome” by Paulus Fürst

“The Plague Doctor from Rome”

Now, for something a little more macabre, but really quite interesting which should make us appreciate our modern medicine…

This image, titled “Der Doctor Schnabel von Rom”, or “The Plague Doctor from Rome” (literally the Beak Doctor from Rome), was printed from a copper engraving on paper made in 1656 by the German publisher and printer, Paulus Fürst. Though it is commonly believed to have been based on an earlier work by I. Columbina, no artist with that name has been positively identified. It is likely a modified copy of a print by the Italian publisher, Sebastiano Zecchini. Gerhart Altzenbach, another German engraver and publisher, did his own version in 1656.

In this piece, Fürst depicts a plague doctor in a specially designed outfit meant to protect the doctor from the Bubonic plague. The outfit is reproduced faithfully from Zecchini’s original print. Everything was specially designed so that doctors could treat the plague victims while taking extreme measures to protect themselves. The mask, which looks like a bird’s beak, is filled with aromatic herbs, camphor or vinegar-soaked sponges, or dried flowers. These measures were thought to filter the infected air before it was breathed in by the doctor. The cloak and gloves were also specially designed to inhibit contracting the plague. The cloak was made of waxed linen or leather and the gloves were leather. Even the hat was leather. Glasses protect his eyes. The doctor holds a wooden cane in his hand.

Fürst published this image in a satirical manuscript. He added his own embellishments to the original illustration. He elongated the fingers of the gloves, adding a caricature feel to the doctor. At the top of the wooden cane, Fürst added bat wings and an hourglass, reinforcing the almost positive imminence of death. He added a landscape to the background. The city in the lower right-hand side is likely Rome, as indicated by the title of the piece. Fürst wrote “I Columbina delineavit” at the bottom, which is why many people think the print is a copy of a work by Columbina. In reality, it is most likely a reference to the Italian theater style, Commedia dell’Arte, and the fantastic costumes they wore. In the lower left, children are seen running away from the plague doctor.

Fürst added a satirical poem written in a mixture of Latin and German, which reads: “You believe it is a fable what is written about Dr. Beak, who flees the contagion and snatches his wage from it. He seeks cadavers to eke out a living, just like the raven on the dung heap. Oh believe, don’t look away, for the plague rules Rome. Who would not be very frightened before his little rod or stick by which means he speaks as though he were mute and indicates his decision. So many a one believes without doubt that he is touched by a black devil. His hell is called “purse” and the souls he fetches are gold.” – Translation found here.

The Bubonic Plague pandemic, also known as the Great Mortality, devastated Europe at its peak between 1348 and 1350 in which it is believed that one-third of the continent’s population was killed. The black spots that were present on victims’ skin led to the sickness being referred to as the Black Death. Between 1656 and 1658, the black plague reemerged in Rome, Italy, which inspired this piece.

Plague doctors were hired by the town, as private doctors often chose not to attend these patients. The rate of survival for the plague doctors was very slim, so the job usually fell to the less skilled in the medical profession that were unable to find other work, or for those who were just starting out. These doctors treated plague victims only and had to remain isolated from healthy individuals in an attempt to curb the spread of the disease.

When plague doctors entered a village, they were avoided as people knew their presence portended ill news. They soon became associated with death as most of their patients died. At the time, the only tool they had to help the patients was bloodletting and draining the pus-filled buboes. The doctors used their wooden canes for several reasons. They could use them to direct patients, keep people away, or to help treat the patients without having to physically touch them. These doctors kept records of deaths during the plague and often served as a witness to dying patients filling out their final wills.

The plague doctor outfits are believed to have been invented in 1619 by Charles de Lorme, the court physician to Louis XII of France. The outfit was mostly made of leather or waxed material. This was meant to keep the fluids of the patient off the doctor, but also served to at least deter the fleas from biting the doctor, although that benefit wasn’t realized at the time. The original mask, which looks like a beak, was actually about 6 inches long. At the time the costume was invented, the common theory for many of the major ailments including the black death was the miasma theory, which thought the sickness was spread by bad or noxious air. They believed if you could smell it, you would get sick from it. This outfit was created to keep out the bad air and keep anything from touching the doctor’s skin.

A copy of “The Plague Doctor from Rome” is currently in the collections of The British Museum in London, England.

For more on Paulus Fürst, please visit his short biography here.

You can find more artists to learn about here.