North's Pessimistic Attitudes

Majority of Northern art in the 16th century consisted of grave human expressions, death, and depictions of supernatural activities, which reflected the pessimistic and skeptical attitudes of Northern Europe. The North’s pessimistic attitude is what caused them to focus on death because of their fear of it. The reason the North feared death was because of the numerous plagues that had occurred making them more aware of the fragility of life and the horror of death. Another preoccupation of the North was the interest in the supernatural. During the 16th century, it was widely believed that some individuals possessed supernatural powers. Due to these beliefs, "between 70,000 and 100,000 people were sentenced to death for the practice of 'harmful