Saint Rosalie Crowned with Roses by Two Angels

Saint Rosalie Crowned with Roses by Two Angels (1624), at Apsley House in London, is one of several paintings Van Dyck devoted to Saint Rosalie during his visit to Palermo in 1624. The cult of Rosalie — a twelfth-century hermit whose relics were credited with ending the devastating plague of 1624 — exploded during Van Dyck's time in Sicily. The artist, who may himself have contracted the plague, painted multiple images of the saint as devotional offerings. This version shows Rosalie crowned by angels, her identity as a plague saint marked by the roses (associated with her name) and the cave that references her hermitage on Monte Pellegrino. The painting's location at Apsley House, the Duke of Wellington's London residence, reflects later British collecting of Flemish old masters.

The composition shows the saint in ecstatic repose as two angels crown her with roses. Van Dyck's delicate palette and refined handling create an atmosphere of celestial tenderness appropriate to the saintly subject.