Heilige_Rochus_door_Christus_aangesteld_tot_patroon_van_de_pestlijders_-_Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_Sint-Martinuskerk_Aalst

''Christ Appointing Saint Roch as Patron Saint of Plague Victims'' or ''The Plague Victims'' is a 1623–1626 altarpiece by

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradi ...

. It is located in the Sint-Martinuskerk in Aalst, Belgium and depicts

Saint Roch Roch (lived c. 1348 – 15/16 August 1376/79 (traditionally c. 1295 – 16 August 1327, also called Rock in English, is a Catholic saint, a confessor whose death is commemorated on 16 August and 9 September in Italy; he is especially invoked a ...

Background

Devastating epidemics of the plague had swept through Europe beginning in the sixteenth century, and Rubens was commissioned by the Brotherhood of Saint Roch to paint an altarpiece for the Church of St Martin in Aalst, Belgium, where the lay brotherhood were installing an altar to Saint Roch, patron saint of invalids, and specially invoked against the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. He lived in the fourteenth century and is said to have effected many miraculous cures, by the sign of the cross, the touch of his hand and prayer. Legend relates that while ministering at

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

, he fell ill himself and was cast out from the town. He recovered from the illness while living in the forest, and is portrayed as a pilgrim with a hat and staff, and a

bubo A bubo (Greek βουβών, ''boubṓn'', 'groin') is adenitis or inflammation of the lymph nodes and is an example of reactive lymphadenopathy. Classification Buboes are a symptom of bubonic plague and occur as painful swellings in the thigh ...

on his thigh (a relic of his illness). He is often accompanied by a dog, representing the dog that brought bread to him and licked his wounds when he was ill.

The altarpiece

The overall dimensions of the altarpiece are , with an arched top. In 1794, Napoleonic troops moved the painting, with its two

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

panels, to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. It was returned to Aalst in 1814. The altarpiece shows two groups of figures. In the upper group, Saint Roch is in prison praying for relief for those suffering from the plague. Then light bursts into the prison, a divine messenger appears accompanied by Christ himself; with his left hand Christ gestures towards the afflicted while with his right, he points to the golden inscription "Eris in peste patronus" (Thou shalt be the patron in the plague). Meanwhile, the lower group has become aware of the miracle taking place above, and are hopeful of recovery; even the shrouded figure on the right is hopeful of being raised from the dead. In this picture, Rubens uses the "diagonals" technique often used by baroque painters, as a means to link the upper group of figures, who gesture and lean downwards, with the supplicants below, whose outstretched arms and gaze draw the eyes diagonally back upwards to the higher group. The work is sometimes compared to ''

Saint Roch Interceding with the Virgin for the Plague-Stricken ''Saint Roch Interceding with the Virgin for the Plague-Stricken'' is an early religious painting by the French artist Jacques-Louis David. It shows Saint Roch interceding to the Virgin Mary and Christ Child for the plague sufferers shown around ...

'', a 1780 painting by French artist Jacques-Louis David. In Rubens's painting, the plague victims are full of hope that they are about to receive relief, while in David's picture the victims are forlorn, apathetic and despairing.

References

{{ACArt 1626 paintings Paintings by Peter Paul Rubens Paintings depicting Jesus Paintings in Belgium Aalst, Belgium Epidemics in art