The Martyrdom Of Saint Bartholomew | Italian School, Neapolitan School, 17th Century. Oil On Panel

The painting depicts the martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, a subject widely popular in Baroque painting due to its powerful dramatic and devotional intensity. The work is attributed to an artist active in the Naples area during the 17th century, whose style was close to that of Jusepe de Ribera, whose naturalistic approach exerted a profound influence on southern Italian art of the period.The composition centers on the figure of the saint, rendered with anatomical precision and with figures in the background arranged in perspective planes. On the right, the executioner is depicted in a dynamic pose, with his arm outstretched as he lifts the martyr’s skin; this pose helps build the narrative tension of the scene. The elements of his clothing—the light-colored tunic, the shoes, and the headband—echo the custom, typical of Ribera’s style, of setting sacred episodes in a realistic and popular setting. On the left side appears a youthful, childlike figure of an assistant or torturer, depicted holding a knife. The face, characterized by a composed and almost detached expression, introduces an effective psychological contrast to the violence of the depicted episode, accentuating the overall pathos of the composition.

Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, traditionally identified as the martyr flayed alive, is venerated as the patron saint of Benevento, the city that preserves his relics. Due to the torture he endured, he is also considered the patron of dermatologists and people suffering from skin diseases.

Dimensions: 38.5 × 50 cm; thickness approximately 2 cm.   Condition: generally good. Work without a frame. The painted surface has been recently cleaned, restoring the clarity of the colors and the figurative details. There are slight marks and small imperfections consistent with the period.