The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew 1624

Curator: Ribera's etching, "The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew," depicts the saint’s gruesome flaying. Editor: The scene is undeniably brutal, yet there's a strange dignity in Bartholomew's upward gaze. It looks small, but what an emotionally loaded piece. Curator: Etchings like these allowed for wider distribution of religious narratives, shaping cultural memory through vivid imagery. The skinning knife has become a specific signifier. Editor: I find myself questioning the ethics of representing such violence, even in a religious context. It risks glorifying the very act it purports to condemn. How do we reconcile that? Curator: It forces us to confront the historical realities of persecution and power, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. And perhaps to examine our own complicity in systems of violence, past and present.