Saint Roch Spain late 16th – early 17th century

Sculpture in high relief (carved from a single block of oak?) representing Saint Roch . Very nice original polychromy and needle gilding. Saint Roch is a French pilgrim and thaumaturge, born in Montpellier in 1350, who experienced the terrible plague epidemics of 1358 and 1361. Orphaned at the age of 17, rich and educated, he left for Rome. He distributed his fortune to the poor and donned the habit of a pilgrim. Along the way, he obtained many cures for the sick who were afflicted by the disease. On the way, he obtained many cures for the sick who were afflicted by the disease and he was about to die in Sarmato. On the edge of the village, a spring gushed out and a dog brought him a loaf of bread every day; he recovered his health and went back on the road, but he was mistaken for a spy by the Visconti family, who were in the middle of the war between the Duke of Milan and the league formed by Urban V. He died in prison in 1379. Patron of pilgrims and of many brotherhoods and guilds, he was also the protector of animals. Good condition, and …