Palla della Peste
Dublin Core
Title
Palla della Peste
Description
The Pala della Peste (Altarpiece of the Bubonic Plague) depicts the Madonna and Child in Glory with the Patron Saints of Bologna: Petronius, Francis, Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Proculus of Bologna, and Florian.
The Madonna and child are in the superior portion. The infant blesses with his right hand, while the left hand holds a flowering sprig. Around the couple, cherubim are active draping flowers, holding rosaries and scapulars, and crowning the Virgin with a floral crown.
In the scene below, the seven saints implore for Bologna, depicted at the bottom center. Charles Borromeo, recently canonized, at the left was known for his work among the pestilent of Milan. Beside him standing is St Proculus of Bologna, a martyred Roman soldier, holding a sword and palm leaf (symbol of Martyrdom). Across the canvas, the armored St Florian holds a halberd and palm leaf. Kneeling below are: St Petronius with a bishop's mitre at his feet; St Francis in a cassock, and to the right are two Jesuit saints, Francis Xavier with the palm leaf pointing to him, and the founder of the order St Ignatius of Loyola. St. Dominic kneeling with the lily of purity on the right.
The structure of the painting follows the formal arrangement, exemplified by a late 16th-century canvas by Annibale Carraci in the Pinacoteca of Bologna. The style recalls the earthy coloring of Ludovico Carracci.
The Madonna and child are in the superior portion. The infant blesses with his right hand, while the left hand holds a flowering sprig. Around the couple, cherubim are active draping flowers, holding rosaries and scapulars, and crowning the Virgin with a floral crown.
In the scene below, the seven saints implore for Bologna, depicted at the bottom center. Charles Borromeo, recently canonized, at the left was known for his work among the pestilent of Milan. Beside him standing is St Proculus of Bologna, a martyred Roman soldier, holding a sword and palm leaf (symbol of Martyrdom). Across the canvas, the armored St Florian holds a halberd and palm leaf. Kneeling below are: St Petronius with a bishop's mitre at his feet; St Francis in a cassock, and to the right are two Jesuit saints, Francis Xavier with the palm leaf pointing to him, and the founder of the order St Ignatius of Loyola. St. Dominic kneeling with the lily of purity on the right.
The structure of the painting follows the formal arrangement, exemplified by a late 16th-century canvas by Annibale Carraci in the Pinacoteca of Bologna. The style recalls the earthy coloring of Ludovico Carracci.
Creator
Guido Reni
Source
Mahon, Denis, and Stephen Pepper. “Guercino and Reni: Reflections on the Interpretation of Documents and Paintings.” The Burlington Magazine 139, no. 1128 (1997): 178–87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/887393.
Pepper, D. Stephen. 1984. Guido Reni: a complete catalogue of his works with an introductory text. New York: New York University Press.
Puglisi, Catherine R. "Guido Reni's "Pallione Del Voto" and the Plague of 1630." The Art Bulletin 77, no. 3 (Sep 01, 1995): 403. https://login.proxy.lib.duke.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/guido-renis-pallione-del-voto-plague-1630/docview/1296212601/se-2?accountid=10598.
Pepper, D. Stephen. 1984. Guido Reni: a complete catalogue of his works with an introductory text. New York: New York University Press.
Puglisi, Catherine R. "Guido Reni's "Pallione Del Voto" and the Plague of 1630." The Art Bulletin 77, no. 3 (Sep 01, 1995): 403. https://login.proxy.lib.duke.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/guido-renis-pallione-del-voto-plague-1630/docview/1296212601/se-2?accountid=10598.
Publisher
Wikimedia Commons contributors, "File:Guido Reni 061.jpg," Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Guido_Reni_061.jpg&oldid=588864124 (accessed December 1, 2021).
Date
1631-1632
Contributor
Jenny Chen
Format
382 × 242 cm
Type
Painting
Coverage
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Files
Collection
Citation
Guido Reni, “Palla della Peste,” ARTHIST 256 - Italian Baroque Art - Fall 2021, accessed October 22, 2026, https://baroque.dahvc.org/fall-2021/items/show/311.