Portraits of St Cerbonius in the Cathedral of Massa Marittima and St Luke in Santa Giustina Church in Padua were not to be seen as human forms evoking ordinary persons or to be venerated as dead people.
Realism and Emotion in Monumental ReliquariesHigh ranking clerics would often have their tombs topped with their full length portrait as a dead man lying on his bier but interestingly, neither of the two arcae had such life-size representation despite the high status of their occupants.
Catherine King (in Diana Norman) argues that with clerical tombs, the more eminent rank, the greater the physical space they were allowed and the greater the quantity of both portraiture and convincing narration they achieved and that increasingly realistic techniques of representation developed that were capable of moving the spectator to share the emotions indicated in the sculpted figures, or to respond to the effigy of the dead dignitary in ways recalling what the responses would have been to the actual cadaver.
At the same time she suggests that the artists and patrons may have decided whether realistic conventions were desirable, having regard for the spiritual or social status of the person being represented, commemorated or entombed.
Abstraction in Monumental Tombs
Absence of effigies of both saints can be illuminated upon by Catherine King's argument (in Diana Norman) that theologians and artists were aware of the dangers of idolatry.
Because relics were traditionally regarded as having healing powers, the combination of the powerful remains and a very convincingly realistic casing could have created too much temptation for the devout to start worshipping the image.
Minimalism, Symbolism: Decorative Scheme of Reliquary Tombs
St Luke's tomb is rather symbolic as opposed to the continuous narrative seen in St Cerbonius. Reliefs depict the bust of St Luke himself, angels holding candles and winged bulls - symbols of the Evangelist. The sculptor opted for minimalist approach to enhance the high degree of abstraction required to represent a saint of such significance, combined with form of symbolism that enables the viewer to identify the saint easily.
Narrative and Education
Narrative scenes, either christological cycles or scenes from a saint's life were meant to educate and inspire the viewer.
The narratives on the tomb chest of St Cerbonius were easily accessible because of the positioning of the arca that enabled pilgrims to view the saint's story closely and thus engage emotionally in the spirirtual experience of his life's journey.
This arrangement allowed the viewer to see each scene from the close proximity. The individual scenes are set in a frame of ornamented borders. The story ends on the roof of the arca in the relief showing the entombment of the saint. The sculptor Di Gregorio made the depiction of each defining moment of the saint's life easily accessible for personal observation.
Status and Dignity
Small realistic details add liveliness to the religious narrative. These details make the scenes more believable so that the devout perceive them as actual events that can be verified by identification of specific features.
Realistic convention was employed in both, secular and tombs as a means of expression of social and clerical status and dignity of the dead. However, there is a considerable distinction in the treatment of the dead. Saints are not individualized to a lesser degree in contrast to portraits of secular dignitaries. The reason the sculptor chose abstract approach might be explained by his effort to avoid idolatry.
Sources:
- Diana Norman: Siena, Florence and Padua: Art, Society and Religion 1280 - 1400, Yale University Press, 1995
Zuzana Minarikova - I live in London and work in publishing in Bloomsbury which is an exciting part of London, full of museums, galleries, bookshops and ...
