Saint Roch Interceding on Behalf of Plague Victims
1570
chalk
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1570
chalk
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This drawing shows a dramatic scene with a half-naked man floating above a crowd. He’s reaching down toward a group of people on the ground, some of whom are pointing up at him. The sky is swirling with clouds, and the figures below look desperate, while the man above seems powerful. The colors are mostly browns and whites, with some dark outlines. The artist used a technique called *gouache*—a mix of opaque white paint with watercolors—to make the figures stand out against the brown background. This helped highlight the drama of the moment. Next, check out the technique: gouache to see how it works in other art.
