Saint Roch Carried to Heaven by Angels

Saint Roch Carried to Heaven by Angels is a monumental oil on canvas created by the Venetian master Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, likely between 1735 and 1745. The composition vividly depicts the celestial ascent of Saint Roch, a patron saint traditionally invoked against the plague. Tiepolo captures the ecstatic moment where the saint, having completed his earthly mission, is rapidly lifted toward the heavens by a dynamic gathering of attendant angels and putti.

This Italian painting exemplifies the high point of Rococo exuberance and the dramatic flair of Venetian religious painting during the period spanning 1726 to 1750. Tiepolo, celebrated for his breathtaking illusionistic frescoes, translated that expansive sense of space and movement into the oil medium, utilizing rapid brushwork and a characteristically bright, airy color palette. The artist’s technique emphasizes brilliant, celestial light and sharp diagonal movement, drawing the viewer’s eye swiftly upward to the undefined divine space above the canvas.

Unlike earlier depictions that often stressed Saint Roch’s suffering or earthly duties, this work focuses solely on spiritual transcendence. Tiepolo renders the saint's figure with a sense of weightless abandonment, his earthbound robes swirling amidst the cloud clusters and golden luminescence. The angels are rendered in varying degrees of visibility, enhancing the illusion of movement and depth. This significant canvas is housed in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art. Due to the high artistic merit of this masterwork, high-quality prints and related studies of Tiepolo's dramatic output are often available through the public domain.