This article presents the frontispiece of the Leviathan, the emblem of the Body Politic,
in new contexts. S tarting from a detail mostly overlooked in previous analyses, the masks of the
plague doctors, the author sketches a new picture of sovereignty, establishing a connection to
sanitation and biopolitics. As the crux of his interpretation and as a kind of perceptual filter, the
masks of the plague doctors alter the view of the represented body.