This is not a macabre depiction of the Grim Reaper but rather "Dr. Beaky of Rome" featured in a colored engraving by Paul Furst created around 1721. It portrays a "plague doctor" in France. During the Black Plague, physicians of the time wore a special outfit with a brimmed hat, long coat and raven-like bird's beak mask with the belief it would protect them from airborne illnesses. The importance of masks continues in our own time.
This is not a macabre depiction of the Grim Reaper but rather "Dr. Beaky of Rome" featured in a colored engraving by Paul Furst created around 1721. It portrays a "plague doctor" in France. During the Black Plague, physicians of the time wore a special outfit with a brimmed hat, long coat and raven-like bird's beak mask with the belief it would protect them from airborne illnesses. The importance of masks continues in our own time.