A suffering Saint Agatha is waiting for you at the Biennale des Antiquaires
-
- Francesco di Antonio Zacchi, called ‘il Balletta’ Viterbo, documented 1430 – 1476, Saint Agatha of Sicily Imprisoned and Visited by Saint Peter Panel, 30.2 x 42.3 cm. Courtesy of Moretti Fine Art.
-
- Damien Hirst, No Feelings, 1989. Glass, faced particleboard, ramin, plastic, aluminium and pharmaceutical packaging, 1372 x 1016 x 289 mm | 54 x 40 x 9 in. Ph. Photographed by Joanna Fernandes.
-
- David La Chapelle, Pamela Anderson: Miracle Tan, 2004.
-
- Shirin Neshat, Passage Series, 2001 Cibachrome print. Courtesy Gladstone Gallery.
Art lovers and collectors vising the last days at the Biennale des Antiquaires (until 21 September) shouldn’t miss the Saint Agatha of Sicily Imprisoned and Visited by Saint Peter on display at Moretti Fine Art, and the reason is not only because of the high quality of this painting that Giorgio De Marchi has brilliantly attributed to Francesco di Antonio Zacchi, called ‘il Balletta’. Another important reason to pay a visit to it lies in the many opened doors that the painting offers to a contemporary sight.
The main of these doors is provided by the story this painting tells about. According to Jacopo da Varagine‘s “Legenda Aurea”, Saint Agatha was born into a rich and noble family of Catania and she decided to dedicate her virginity to God. At fifteen years old, when she rejected the amorous advances of Quintianus – the Sicilian consul pictured by Balletta on the left side of the panel – he denounced her as a Christian and had her persecuted and subsequently sent to prison. Among the tortures she underwent was the cutting off of her breasts. Once in prison, he further gave the order that no doctor would be allowed to approach her. However, during the night, Saint Peter appears with an angel and gives her a capsule of medicine.
The threshold is pretty easy to be crossed. Isn’t the access to medicine for those people who can’t afford them also one of the major problems of the society we are living in? Is the realistic representation of a violated woman’s half-naked body to be considered as a reference to the superiority of the beauty of the soul? Are the two guys pushing the Saint into the prison as miserable as those who accomplished the will of powerful people without thinking about what they were doing? Are the dignitaries in the background those who see an injustice, nonetheless don’t do anything to stop it?
Then we should be ready to complete this beautiful painting with a medicine cabinet by Damien Hirst – possibly a golden one – to grasp the ambiguity of medicine. Or we could look at a photo of Pamela Anderson by David LaChapelle to realize how the research for artificial beauty could be easily turn into a kind of martyrdom. Or we could go back to Shirin Neshat‘s provocative representation of the women and artists condition.
November 25, 2020
