The Plague of 1630

San Polo

The Plague of 1630
The painting was commissioned in 1666 by Bernardo Briolo to Guardian Grande, i.e. the greatest authority of the School, as the inscription to the left of the pillar points out. The work portrays with brutal realism the effects of the plague of 1630 while on top the Virgin and San Rocco, patron saint of the School, plead with Christ to make it stop.