Saint Rosalie Interceding for the Plague-stricken of Palermo
1624
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
39 1/4 x 29 in. (99.7 x 73.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, 1871
Accession Number
71.41
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1624, Flemish Baroque master Anthony van Dyck created *Saint Rosalie Interceding for the Plague-stricken of Palermo*, an oil-on-canvas masterpiece now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Paintings collection. During his influential stay in Genoa, Italy (1621–1627), van Dyck captured the dramatic intercession of Palermo's patron saint, Saint Rosalie—a Benedictine nun whose relics were rediscovered that very year amid a devastating plague outbreak. The painting vividly portrays Rosalie, surrounded by playful putti (cherubs), gazing protectively over the afflicted city below, e...
About the Artist
Anthony van Dyck · 1599–1641
Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who revolutionized portrait painting and became the most influential court painter in 17th-century England. Born in Antwerp as the seventh of twelve children to a prosperous silk merchant, van Dyck displayed extraordinary artistic talent from childhood. He trained under Hendrick van Balen before joining Peter Paul Rubens's workshop as a...