Saint Roch

This painting of Saint Roch is one of the flanking panels of a triptych for S. Maria della Scala, Verona. The central panel of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by Gerolamo dai Libri is also in the National Gallery’s collection, but the other flanking panel of Saint Sebastian by Francesco di Marco India Torbido is missing. Although the constituent parts of an altarpiece are known as ‘panels’ and were frequently painted on wood, these pictures are actually painted on canvas. The commission for this work was connected with an outbreak of plague from 1510 to 1512. Roch and Sebastian are both saints invoked against plague.According to The Golden Legend, Saint Roch was born in Montpellier in France. When his parents died in his twentieth year, Roch distributed all of his worldly goods to the poor and set off on a pilgrimage to Rome. In Morando’s painting, Roch’s hat hangs from his pilgrim staff. The crossed keys on its brim show that he has been on pilgrimage to Rome, as they are the emblem of Saint Peter whose basilica is there. A similar pilgrim badge appears among those on the hat of Saint James in The Virgin and Child with Saints by Marziale.When Roch arrived in Italy, he was met with an outbreak of plague and devoted himself to tending to the sick in the public hospitals. In Rome he was said to have miraculously healed a cardinal from Lombardy. While ministering in Piacenza he fell ill himself and was expelled from the city. He walked into the wilderness and made a makeshift shelter in the woods, where a stream miraculously sprang up to quench his thirst. A dog belonging to a local nobleman brought him bread every day and licked his wounds, healing them. Here the little white dog appears at Saint Roch’s feet, but without the loaf of bread.When Roch returned to Montpellier he was arrested as a spy and put in prison, where he died five years later. After his death an angel brought a tablet inscribed in gold from heaven and laid it under Roch’s head; it confirmed Roch’s wish that those calling upon his name should be protected from plague. In Morando’s painting, the angel swoops into view at top left, making a sign of blessing over Roch, and reminding us of God’s promise. The startled saint looks up over his shoulder, the position of his arms emphasising his twisting, contrappostal pose. In this way, Morando brings movement and narrative drama to the saint’s image.Saint Roch lifts his robe to reveal the plague sore near his groin. Beautifully observed pink roses lie as an offering and commemoration at his feet. They have been plucked from the bush growing in the altarpiece’s central panel. Directly behind the saint a damaged oak tree has put out strong new growth, symbolising Saint Roch’s triumph over death.