What is it about?
This paper about the well-known images of a masked plague doctor completes a small series of three and deals with the great epidemic of Marseille in 1720–1721. In the context of that horrific event, prints once again appeared depicting a doctor with a beak mask, this time naming François Chicoyneau as the wearer. This physician and professor in Montpellier was sent by the court to Marseille to investigate the disease. By denying the existence of the plague and refusing to believe in its contagiousness, he contributed to the disastrous course of events in the first months. However, he did not wear any special costume; the prints were intended to ridicule him.
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Photo by Peter Kvetny on Unsplash
Why is it important?
There is a tendency to present medical illustrations—and this certainly applies to the masked plague doctors—outside their historical context and stripped of their symbolic or satirical intent, which gives rise to all sorts of misconceptions. This concerns not only the personage of the plague doctor, but also historical views on contagion and prophylaxis.
Perspectives
I believe that medical historians, physicians, and art historians can learn a great deal from one another when they are willing to look beyond the boundaries of their own disciplines. My aim is to contribute an art-historical perspective to the broad discussions about protective equipment throughout history.
Herbert J. Mattie
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Plague Doctor’s Parody: Ridiculing François Chicoyneau during the Great Plague of Marseille, 1720–1722, Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, November 2025, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/jhmas/jraf021.
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