Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has been plagued by questions about her health. Those questions intensified after she collapsed in New York City in mid-September and then took several days off from campaigning to recover from pneumonia. Is Hillary OK? Does she have dysphasia, as Katrina Pierson, M.D., has suggested? Does she require an old person’s walker, an advanced exoskeleton, or an elaborate system of pulleys and wires to move, as other experts have suggested? Why does she ride in SUVs with "like almost a little step that comes down," AKA retractable running boards?

The answer to all these questions may be contained in clues from an esoteric corner of the art world.

Americans were seriously weirded out when a fly landed on Hillary Clinton’s face at last night’s debate.

Observers pointed to Clinton’s understated reaction to the fly as evidence that she is a robot, like those on the HBO show Westworld. The incident revived basic concerns about Hillary’s status as a member of the species homo sapiens—which she unsuccessfully tried to quash in 2015.

Anyone notice how Clinton didn't flinch when the fly landed on her? Anyone watch Westworld? They don't flinch either. THE ROBOTS ARE HERE — William/Bill Aicher (@BillAicher) October 10, 2016

However, let us stipulate for a second that Hillary is in fact one of us. If we do, then her health may be even more precarious than we thought. As learned observers know, flies serve an important symbolic role in Western art.

"In the Dutch Vanitas tradition, flies symbolize the fleeting nature of time and the speed with which death arrives," according to the authoritative Encyclopedia of Animal Symbolism in Art. European art often depicts flies perched on human skulls as a memento mori, or reminder that our death looms just around the corner.

"The fly was a symbol of bringers of disease, and … of Beelzebub," the encyclopedia stated. ‘Beelzebub’ is a Hebrew rendering of the name ‘Baal-Zebub,’ meaning "lord [Author’s Note: or lady] of the flies."

The encyclopedia added that "[i]n Christian art, flies symbolize evil, pestilence, and sin."

"But maybe that is all a coincidence and not an ancient warning come alive from the pages of a Dan Brown novel," you might be thinking to yourself. "We need something more specific and identifiable to connect it to Hillary Clinton."

According to the website History of Painters, "A fly hovering over a … nobleman indicates disfavor with the king or corruption and dereliction of duty." [Emphasis added]

Yep, that’s our Hillary. What are the dead masters of northern Europe trying to tell us?

Postscript: Flies have also been attracted to President Obama.