Gambling with Death – Bernhard Gillam c. 19th Century

Gambling with Death, dated to the 19th century, is a political illustration by Bernhard Gillam depicting a wealthy man seated calmly while casting dice as Death stands beside him, surrounded by scenes of widespread disaster.

The composition unfolds across multiple vignettes—fires, shipwrecks, industrial destruction, and public unrest—encircling the central figure. Rather than isolating a single moment, the image operates panoramically, using simultaneity to show how acts of chance and risk at the center radiate outward into collective consequence.