"Covid and anti-vaccines".
JK is a 13th century depiction of Hell from the Florence Baptistery. Over the centuries, Europe suffered from many plagues and epidemics, and in the Middle Ages (before the miracle vaccines) it was believed that it was the wrath of God or the devil that made life miserable. They had no science to ignore, unlike today where many in our society insist on bringing preventable misery to our community.
Life back then was "nasty, cruel, and short," leaving medieval people preoccupied with whether they were going to heaven or hell. And this mosaic showed what the fate of the wicked would be. You will be sent to hell, where souls are devoured by horned cannibals, swallowed by snakes, tormented by pointy-eared devils, and roasted in eternal fire.
The Florence Baptistery is even older than this 13th century mosaic. Built on Roman foundations, it is the oldest building in the city, dating back nearly 1,000 years. The baptistery is famous for its Renaissance bronze doors (including Ghiberti's Gates of Heaven), but its interior still retains a medieval feel. It is dark and mysterious, crowned by an octagonal dome of golden mosaics depicting angels and biblical scenes.
Dominating all that, the apocalyptic mosaic. Christ sits on a throne with arms outstretched, thumbs up and down. The righteous go to heaven, the rest go to hell.
Of course, no one in the Middle Ages knew exactly what hell was. Even the Bible is lacking in detail, describing only a dark, underground, fiery, loathsome, eternal place far removed from the kingdom of the blessed.
The mission of the artists who created this mosaic is to bring Hell to life. It's a chaotic mess of mutilated bodies, slithering snakes and oozing llamas. In the center sits a bull-headed monster with outstretched arms like a demonic double of Christ. He feeds the poor guy, grabs the next plate with his hands and crushes two more people, while snakes come out of his ears and tail to catch new victims.
These graphic details were innovative in antebellum times. The beast's torn belly, braided beard, and crumpled red robes echo the flickering flames. The condemned adopt naturalistic positions (crouching, writhing, gesturing) and their suffering faces tell the sad story of eternal torment.
The realism of this mosaic greatly influenced Renaissance painters such as Giotto, and the building itself inspired Renaissance architects such as Brunelleschi. And shortly after this mosaic was finished, a little boy named Dante Alighieri was dropped into the font just below. Dante was well aware of this hellish scene. When he wrote his epic poem "Djokhk" ("Hell"), he described it with the same vivid images: rocky landscapes, crowds of naked villains, the Minotaur in the middle, etc. Dante's motifs have inspired other artists over the centuries (such as Giotto and Signorelli) to create European altarpieces, paintings, novels and illustrations. They have shaped the imagination of people all over the world. And most of it is about the Florence Baptistery and the anonymous artists who worked here in the 13th century who decided to give them hell.