Late Renaissance Polychromed Sculpture of St Roch

A finely carved oak figure of St Roch, patron saint invoked against the plague, retaining its original Renaissance polychrome and gilding. The saint is depicted as a youthful pilgrim, dressed in travelling boots and cloak with gold lining, and wearing the traditional broad-brimmed hat of the pilgrim. His right hand draws attention to his thigh — once painted with the saint’s identifying plague bubo, now lost to time — while his left holds the drapery.
The restrained palette of black, green, and gold reflects the sober style of late 16th-century South German sculpture. St Roch was one of the most popular plague saints of Renaissance Europe, and images of him were commissioned for altars, confraternities, and private devotion as acts of protection against epidemics.