The Plague in Rome, 1869, Jules Elie Delaunay, French, 1828 - 1891, 14 7/16 x 18 1/16 in. (36.67 x 45.88 cm) (canvas)21 1/4 x 23 3/4 x 2 1/4 in. (53.98 x 60.33 x 5.72 cm) (outer frame), Oil on wood, France, 19th century, This is probably a study for Delaunay's most famous painting, a large canvas he exhibited in 1869, but which had its genesis during Delaunay's period of study in Rome (1856-61). The artist took inspiration from a passage in Jacobus de Voragine's 13th-century 'Golden Legend', which describes how divine vengeance brought a plague to Rome. In the painting, plague-stricken figures lie in torment in the streets, while to the right, a good angel commands the bad angel to strike with his spear the homes where the plague will enter.