Ciro Ferri (1634 - 1689), A pilgrim comforted by an angel (St Roch?)

The Roman painter Ciro Ferri was the most important pupil of Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), a major master of Roman Baroque painting. In a kind of courtyard with a wooden staircase and damaged paving, a man lies alone on a straw mat, his pale skin colour and facial expression indicating that he is seriously ill. With the last of his strength, he holds a sheet of paper and a quill pen in his hands. A pilgrim's staff, a rosary and a small bowl for drinking lie beside him. An angel in a golden robe and blue cloak glides down on a cloud and brings the pilgrim a wreath of flowers. Heavenly, golden light appears in the clouds behind him. On the left edge of the picture, next to a pillar of the building, we can see out into a landscape. This could be St Roch, who, when he fell ill with the plague, withdrew and was comforted by an angel. A dog brought him daily bread. Oil on canvas , 73.5 x 97 cm