San Carlo Borraomeo Interceding for Plague Victims n.d.

This drawing in pen and brown ink shows Saint Carlo Borromeo, a 16th-century cardinal, imploring divine intervention during a plague. Made in Italy, probably in the 17th or 18th century, this sketch reflects the social trauma of recurrent epidemics. Borromeo himself ministered to plague victims in Milan and became a symbol of charity. The image presents a clear social message, with the saint as intercessor between the suffering populace and the divine. The visual codes are quite traditional; note the contrast between the terrestrial realm of death and disease and the heavenly realm above. The drawing probably served as a preparatory study for a larger, more public artwork. It suggests the important role the church played in people's lives, as well as how they turned to religion in times of crisis. Understanding this work fully requires that we delve into church records, histories of medicine, and other documents which illuminate the social impact of the plague in early modern Europe.