Jusepe de Ribera (1634). The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew (oil on canvas). National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

This masterpiece strikes a balance between fantasy and reality, of stability and teetering emotion. The rendering of textures and forms is realistic slightly beyond optical reality, but the observer is so near at hand, and the progress of the martyr’s execution creates something of a literal relationship between subject matter and observer. The compression of the field of view, full utilization of the frame, and motion created by the subject’s elongated limbs interacting with the pose and activity of the second subject create tightly controlled, cross-directional lines of motion that continually direct eye movement to the interior of the canvas. The pleading moment and unfolding execution are in direct emotional conflict with the organic, roughly figure-eight balancing motion of the scene. 

Forms and space are rendered with a severely diluted red and green complementary color scheme. Hyper-realistic modelling seems to be based on chroma rather than value adjustments, although the drama of the scene is based for the most part on sharp contrasts in value, building a pattern of sinuous and wispy textures. This modelling, value pattern and intuitive use of color temperature are responsible for the simply stunning illusion of plastic depth Ribera has created.

Similar to a camera, the foreground is in exquisite focus. Combined with a dramatic, other-worldly light source so often found in masterpieces of the era, focus is placed on the Saint’s up-tilted face, followed by his gesture. Lines of force frame this portion of the canvas, in addition to the attention of the secondary subject. Tromp l’oeil texture, diluted chroma and formal embellishment bind the canvas together, providing context for the content to stand against.

Following the establishment of Lutheranism, the Catholic church sought to win back a segment of the parishioners it lost by engaging audiences with specific, event-based depictions that contrasted against the opulence and excessiveness the church was criticized for in the first place. In the case of Saint Bartholomew, the depicted is the moments leading up to his execution, by being skinned alive. This is an exquisite work of horror; it unapologetically and beautifully places a standard-setting act of inhumanity in the center of the mind space of the observer.