The Triumph of Death, Francesco Traini or Buonamico Buffalmacco, 1330's, Pisa.

 The Triumph of Death fresco in the Camposanto, Pisa is an iconic image for the time period. Although it predates the plague, the fresco embodies how people reacted and coped with crisis during the fourteenth centrury. The Triumph of Death chronicles the transition from this life to the next with depictions of the living, the  dead, and the soul after it has left the body. There is an emphasis on how actions on earth will have repurcussions on the judgement of the soul in the afterlife as some are tossed into the depths of Hell while some are escorted up to Heaven. During a time when life was very short the afterflife was a prevelant theme. Many people resorted to religion as a way to rationalize death and unexplainable disaster such as the famine and plague. The Triumph of Death depicts this belief quite well as a large portion of the fresco is dedicated to the fate of the soul rather than the physical body.