Plaque
ca. 1500 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This painted panel would have provided a focus for prayer and devotion. The Virgin Mary and infant Christ occupy the centre of the composition. The figure clad in a loin cloth and shot with arrows is St Sebastian. The other figure is St Roch. St Roch caught the plague and was reputed to have miraculously cured other sufferers. St Sebastian was also a popular figure for those seeking protection against disease, partly because of his courage in facing torment and suffering before his eventual death.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Painted and glazed earthenware |
Brief description | Ceramic panel featuring the Virgin and Child between Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch, central Italy, ca. 1500 |
Physical description | Painted in blue, orange, yellow and copper green with slight touches of manganese purple. The Virgin and Child enthroned between St Sebastian and St Roch under a vaulted baldacchino supported by square columns on a chequer pavement, in an open landscape with distant mountains. The composition is enclosed by borders with palmettes on an orange ground. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Gallery label | Label transcribed 16-10-2006:
Panel, earthenware
The Virgin and Child between Saint Sebastian and Saint Roch
Central Italy, probably Pesaro; about 1500-1510
Cat no. 156
196-1879 |
Object history | Part of the Robinson Collection. |
Historical context | St Roch (circa 1350-1380) was born into a rich merchant family but became a hermit. He spent much of his life on pilgrimages, and here he is depicted with a staff. Whilst in Piacenza he caught the plaque and was fed by a dog. The dog is sometimes used as one of his attributes, but it is missing from this representation. St Roch was reputed to have miraculously cured plaque sufferers. St Sebastian was believed to have been a Roman martyr who suffered persecution during the reign of the emperor Diocletian. Sebastian was believed to have been a soldier who became captain of Diocletian's praetorian guard, without Diocletian realising that he was a Christian. Sebastian helped other Christian martyrs, for which Diocletian ordered him to be shot to death with arrows. Sebastian recovered, confronted the Emperor for his cruelty, and was then beaten to death with clubs. The representation of St Sebastian clad only in a loin cloth, bound and pierced with arrows became popular in the fifteenth century. St Sebastian was the patron of archers, but also had a widespread patronage against the plague, partly due to Sebastian's courage in facing torment and suffering. |
Production | Probably Pesaro |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This painted panel would have provided a focus for prayer and devotion. The Virgin Mary and infant Christ occupy the centre of the composition. The figure clad in a loin cloth and shot with arrows is St Sebastian. The other figure is St Roch. St Roch caught the plague and was reputed to have miraculously cured other sufferers. St Sebastian was also a popular figure for those seeking protection against disease, partly because of his courage in facing torment and suffering before his eventual death. |
Bibliographic references |
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Other number | 156 - Rackham (1940) |
Collection | |
Accession number | 196-1879 |
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Record created | November 24, 2006 |
Record URL |
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