The subject of this print derives from a passage in the epic poem the Aeneid (written between 29-19 BCE), which narrates the plague that ravaged Crete when Aeneas, the hero of the poem, was living on the island. The tragic event is illustrated in the foreground of the print, where the body of a dead woman lies. Behind her, a man holds his nose tightly to prevent airborne infection and avoid smelling the acrid odour coming from her diseased body, while he pushes her child away to prevent him from suckling, as this would harm the baby. At left, a man inspects a dead sheep, which has also been infected and perished.

Plagues were not unusual events 2000 years ago when the Aeneid was written, nor were they rare during the Renaissance when the design for this print was created - although Raphael himself did not experience it. Diseases posed a real threat to the world, and medicine was not yet advanced enough to deal with them adequately. Although it depicts an event in the distant past, the subject of this print would have been all too relevant for a sixteenth-century audience.

Previous owner : Merseyside County Council/Walker Art Gallery & Witt Library

Inscription: inscription : printed : upper left within image & recto : : EFFIGIES SACRAE, DIVOMRHRGR //

Inscription: inscription : printed : lower centre within image & recto : on bottom of plinth : LINQVEBANT / DVLCES ANI / MAS, AVT AE / CRA TRAHE / BANT / CORP //

Inscription: inscription : printed : lower right hand corner within image & recto : : IV RAE.VR / M //