Question

Where does the image below come from?
People on horseback stand over dead bodies in coffins.
a.
It is in a book about the Black Death.
b.
It is part of a larger painting about the Black Death.

Answer 1

I can’t tell for sure from your description alone — could you upload the image (or paste a link)? If you can’t, here are quick ways to tell:

- Book illustration / woodcut/engraving: usually monochrome, strong black lines, paper texture, page margins, captions, folio/page numbers or running text nearby.
- Part of a larger painting/fresco: full colour, visible brushwork or craquelure, scene continues beyond the crop (figures cut off at the edges), no page text or margins.

A common work that matches your description is Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Triumph of Death (skeletons/horsemen over corpses) — that’s a large painting, not a book illustration, so that would be (b). Send the image and I’ll identify it precisely.