Page 53 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 13(1) (2025)

The Plague Altar of St Sebastian St Sebastian is one of the most venerated
in the Church of St Andrew in Makole: saints. He is the protector (patron saint) against
Close View and Interpretation the plague. The rapid cessation of this disease in
Rome in 680 is attributed to his intercession.
a) The upper part of the plague altar
In depictions of St Sebastian, arrows symbolise
An example of visual art related to plague is the his role as protector against the plague and his
so-called ‘Plague altar’ of St Sebastian by the martyrdom. These images, often showing him
sculptor Jožef Štraub with a plague scene by an bound and pierced by arrows, reflect his unwa-
unknown painter in the lower part of the art- vering faith and courage in the face of persecu-
work, which was created between 1751 and 1756 tion. The arrows, which in the past were invoked
and is located in the parish church of St Andrew to protect against illness, symbolise both his
in Makole in Slovenia. suffering and the divine intervention that gives
The side plague altar, which was badly dam- hope to those who suffer. Overall, they embody 53
aged, dilapidated, worm-eaten and rotten, was themes of martyrdom, protection, resilience and
restored in 2018 (Šiles and Radšel 2018). divine grace and emphasise the importance of St
The wooden altar consists of a wooden Sebastian in the context of suffering and heal-
background and polychrome statues of angels ing, especially in times of plague.
and saints. In the lower part, there are statues The arrows of pestilence are deeply root-
of St Charles Borromeo and St Roch. In the at- ed in many languages. The Hebrew words for
tic of the altar are four more angels, two smaller plague (maggefah, negef, naga, makkah) all im-
and two larger, as well as nine angel heads with ply a blow. The English word ‘plague’ comes from Sensory Representations of Plague
wings. In the centre is a statue of Jesus Christ the Latin plaga, which is derived from the Greek
with the rays of the sun, with silvered clouds in πληγή, meaning blow. Similarly, the French word
the background (Šiles and Radšel 2018, 2). fléau, which means both flail and plague, comes
On the left side of the altar is a statue of St from the Latin flagellum and Greek θλίβω, af-
Charles Borromeo, who is known for having flicted. In Arabic, the term for plague evokes the
helped plague patients during the plague in Mi- idea of being ‘stung’ or ‘pricked’, reminiscent of
lan in 1576, and on the right side is a statue of St the snakes or arrows associated with the disease
Roch, the patron saint against the plague. (Payne Crawfurd 1914, 8–9).
The wooden painting on the altarpiece St Roch, also known as St Rocco, is often
shows St Peter, who is depicted with a key be- invoked as a protector against plague and infec-
cause he is traditionally regarded as the keeper tious diseases. His symbolism is rich and com-
of the keys to heaven, and St Sebastian, a patron plex, reflecting both his life and the historical
saint against contagious and sudden infectious context in which he became a figure of venera-
diseases. Black clouds can be seen above them, tion. St Roch is primarily regarded as the patron
from which lightning bolts shoot down to earth. saint of those suffering from infectious diseas-
As it is said that ‘such diseases are like an arrow es, especially the plague. This association stems
shot secretly’, St Sebastian is usually depicted from his own life story, in which he was involved
‘tied to a tree or a pillar with arrows in his body’ in the plague outbreaks of the fourteenth cen-
(‘Sveti Sebastijan (Boštjan) – mučenec’ n.d.). tury. His actions are an example of compassion
On this plague altar, he is holding arrows in his and selflessness, qualities that play a major role
right hand, the tips of which are pointing away in times of crisis. In artistic representations, St
from him. ‘Initially, the saint was the patron Roch is often depicted as a pilgrim with a shell,
saint against the plague, later together with St together with a staff and a dog. The dog symbol-
Roch, who slowly took his place’ (‘Sveti Sebasti- ises loyalty and comradeship. In some stories, it
jan (Boštjan) – mučenec’ n.d.). is said to have brought him bread when he was in