Bassano School Artist, Saint Roch of Montpellier, 1700s, Oil Painting on Canvas, Framed

Details

Description

Unknown artist (likely Bassano School)

'Depiction of Saint Roch of Montpellier'
Unsigned
likely circa 1700-50
Oil on canvas, framed
Size: … Read more Unknown artist (likely Bassano School)

'Depiction of Saint Roch of Montpellier'
Unsigned
likely circa 1700-50
Oil on canvas, framed
Size: 43.5 x 33 cm (without frame) / 55.9 x 45.6 cm (with frame)

This painting depicts Saint Roch of Montpellier (c. 1295 Montpellier – August 16, 1327 ibid.), the patron saint against the plague. He kneels beside a stone, absorbed in the Rosary, his head supported by his right hand, his face cast in shadow with a sense of foreboding or worry.

Numerous attributes can be identified in the work, unmistakably recognizing the figure as Saint Roch. In the foreground is a gourd-shaped bottle against which a pilgrim's hat leans. In the background, a pilgrim's staff with the veil of remembrance attached to the top stands beside a tree. Behind the tree on the right side of the image, a dog can be seen carrying a loaf of bread in its mouth. The saint himself is depicted in pilgrim's garb, his left knee exposed and displaying the plague boil typical of his affliction.

Although the composition is quite coherent, it is possible that the work is a section of a formerly larger composition.

Previous owners passed the work down within their family as a piece from the school or following of Frans Hals. Based on a photograph, this assumption was refuted by Jan Kosten (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), The Hague) (email dated June 11, 2014). Jan Kosten, however, places the work in an Italian-influenced context and suggests a school/tradition of the Venetian artist family Bassano as a possible delimitation (‘Het is m.i. zelfs niet eens Nederlands, maar Italiaans van inspiratie. Ik denk hierbij speciaal aan de school van de Bassano’s uit de buurt van Venetië.‘). See less