St. Roch
INV
ESC.203
PLACE/DATE
Portugal, 16th century (early)
MATERIALS
Polychrome limestone
INV
ESC.203
This large sculpture comes from the old wicket gate of St. Roch, located in the Álvaro Pais tower of the Ferdinand wall of Lisbon (1373-1375), where it survived the 1755 earthquake intact and remained there until 1835.
In polychrome stone, it represents the saint in his traditional iconography, wearing the full garb of a pilgrim, with cloak and chaperon, accompanied by an angel pointing to the pestiferous wound on his left leg and a dog with a loaf of bread in its mouth. Legend has it that the angel cured him by applying a miraculous balm to his wounds, and the dog fed him daily while he remained withdrawn in the forest.