Scuola Grande di San Rocco

Scuola Grande di San Rocco Review

Saint Rocco's popularity stemmed from his miraculous recovery from the plague and his care for fellow sufferers. Throughout the plague-filled Middle Ages, followers and donations abounded, and this elegant example of Venetian Renaissance architecture, built between 1517 and 1560 and including the work of at least four architects, was the result. Although it is bold and dramatic outside, its contents are even more stunning—a series of more than 60 paintings by Tintoretto. In 1564 Tintoretto edged out competition for a commission to decorate a ceiling by submitting not a sketch, but a finished work, which he moreover offered free of charge. Moses Striking Water from the Rock, The Brazen Serpent, and The Fall of Manna represent three afflictions—thirst, disease, and hunger—that San Rocco and later his brotherhood sought to relieve.