Three Saints: Roch, Anthony Abbot, and Lucy

Cima da Conegliano (Giovanni Battista Cima)

ca. 1513 · Oil on canvas, transferred from wood · European Paintings

Three saints, each a protector and healer, are invoked in this altarpiece. Anthony Abbot, patron saint of those with infectious diseases, stands elevated at the center. His placement suggests this work may have been made for the Hospital Brothers of Saint Anthony, a religious order that cared for the sick. Saint Anthony is flanked by Saints Roch, protector of victims of the plague (he points to a bubo on his leg), and Lucy, patron saint of the blind (identified by her illuminated lamp). Interrupting the meditative stillness of the painting is a small black pig, a symbol of Saint Anthony and evidence of Cima’s talent for depicting animals and nature.

Artist

Cima da Conegliano (Giovanni Battista Cima)

Date

ca. 1513

Medium

Oil on canvas, transferred from wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1907