Tra Cerano e la peste a Milano: una lettura iconografica per la chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie

This article proposes a new icono- graphic interpretation of the lunette de- picting the Madonna freeing Milan from the plague, located at the entrance to the Chapel of Our Lady of Grace in the epon- ymous Milanese church. Commissioned to commemorate the end of the epidemic that afflicted the city between 1629 and 1633, the work was originally assigned to Cerano but completed by his workshop fol- lowing the master’s death. Previous schol- arship has overlooked the fact that the lu- nette depicts an episode from the history of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie: during the contagion, Dominican friars distributed an ointment believed to have healing properties against the disease, an event illustrated in the painting. By ana- lyzing the image in light of contemporary sources and archival documentation, this study presents a revised interpretation of the work by Cerano and his workshop, of- fering new insights into devotional practic- es, the cult of the Madonna of the Rosary, and the religious and social history of sev- enteenth-century Milan.