RT Article
T1 Competing Hermeneutics: The Martyr Murals at Santo Stefano Rotondo
JF Renaissance and reformation
VO 47
IS 4
SP 41
OP 68
A1 Groarke, Louis F.
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/192514514X
AB The frescoed martyrdom murals at Santo Stefano Rotondo in Rome (c. 1582) have inspired much conflicting commentary down through the centuries. Painted by Niccolò Circignani (familiarly known as il Pomarancio), they feature gruesome, realistic renderings of torture scenes dating from the late Roman persecutions. Protestant and Catholic audiences have offered dramatically opposing evaluations of the harrowing subject matter on display. In this article, I report on and analyze the paintings from both a Protestant and a Catholic point of view. I want to show how a careful historical analysis can recover intentionality - the original purpose and aspirations embodied in an artwork - and, at the same time, make sense of incompatible readings of the very same visual content.
K1 Catholic
K1 Il Pomarancio
K1 Intentionality
K1 Jesuit
K1 Martyrdom
K1 Niccolò Circignani
K1 Protestant
K1 Readings
K1 Representational Art
K1 St. Stefano Totondo
DO 10.33137/rr.v47i4.45369