The Spanish 1918 Flu and the COVID-19 Disease: The Art of Remembering and Foreshadowing Pandemics

Tragic events such as pandemics can be remembered as well as foreshadowed by works of art. Paintings by the artists Edvard Munch and John Singer Sargent (1918-19) tell us in real time what it was like to be stricken by the Spanish flu. Paintings by Edward Hopper (1940s and '50s) foretell the lockdown and social distancing of today's COVID-19 pandemic.