Maestro di San Rocco a Pallanza
The name Master of San Rocco is used to refer to the anonymous painter of the cycle of the Stories of San Rocco, now displayed in the Museo del Paesaggio, but which were originally located in the apse of the oratory of San Rocco. Until 1879 the oratory stood near the church of Madonna di Campagna in Pallanza, after which it was demolished.
The solidity of the volumes and the skilful organization of space suggest that they can be dated to a period after the arrival of Leonardo and Bramante in Milan (the 1480s). A painter linking the culture of the central powers and that of the provinces, under the dominion of the Sforzas, may have been Bernardo Zenale, whose repertoire seems to have been a source of inspiration for the Master of San Rocco. The frescoes can therefore be dated to the last decade of the 15th century.
Other works which can probably be attributed to the Master of San Rocco are a Lament over the Dead Christ, preserved at the Museo del Paesaggio, and Polyptich in a private collection, and a painting of Christ with the crown of thorns and two angels, now at the Princeton Art Museum.
