Saint Roch, kneeling on a stone, seen from the side with his dog behind him and a townscape in the background at left

Art Historical Context

In this delicate etching from 1620–30, Giuseppe Caletti, known as Cremonese, captures Roch in a moment of pious devotion. The saint kneels on a stone, viewed from the side, with his loyal dog at his heels—a nod to the legend where the animal brought him bread during his plague-induced exile. A quaint townscape fades into the background at left, evoking the everyday world amid spiritual isolation. Produced as the first state of, this print (5 11/16 × 3 1/2 in.) offers a rare, unaltered glimpse into the artist's iterative process before later refinements. Caletti, a 17th-century Italian etcher ...