The artwork titled “The Fifth Plague. Livestock Disease” is a piece created by Gustave Doré, belonging to the art movement of Romanticism. Classified as a religious painting, this artwork is part of the series “The Holy Bible.” The piece visually interprets a biblical event, specifically the fifth plague in which God inflicted disease upon the livestock of Egypt as a divine judgment.
The artwork presents a somber, chaotic scene, densely packed with human and animal figures. The composition is marked by vigorous and expressive linework, characteristic of Doré’s style, conveying the anguish and turmoil of the plague-stricken land. In the foreground, figures are depicted tending to the afflicted livestock, their postures reflecting despair and helplessness. The background adds to the atmosphere of disaster with dark, swirling clouds, suggesting a scene of divine wrath and suffering. The intricacy of detail and the dramatic portrayal of human emotion and divine intervention are hallmarks of the Romanticism movement, adding a profound depth to Doré’s religious painting.
