Introduction Post

 

St. Cecilia

By Stefano Maderno

 

The Artist

Stefano Maderno was an Italian sculptor during the late 16^th to early 17^th Century. Not much is known about his life, but it is thought that he was born in 1576 and died on September 17, 1636. He worked primarily as a sculptor of religious imagery for the Catholic Church and his portrayal of St. Cecilia, which he created in 1599 at the age of 23, was his most famous work. Maderno is considered an early Baroque artist and he is often credited as an influence for the works of later Baroque sculptors, including Bernini.

St. Cecilia

The story of St. Cecilia is well known to most Catholics and she is venerated as the patron saint of music and musicians. It is believed that she lived in Rome sometime in the 4^th Century A.D. She was a pious woman who vowed herself to chastity. She was an avid preacher of Christianity and was put to death by the Roman Empire for her faith. The story relates that she was first condemned to be boiled to death in the baths but, despite the furnace being stoked all night, she was kept safe from the heat. She was then condemned to be beheaded, though when the executioner struck her neck with the axe, she continued to live, bleeding for three days while she preached to the crowds that had gathered to watch. She died on the third day and was buried in Rome. A church was built over her gravesite in the 5^th Century A.D.

In 1599, St. Cecilia’s church was being renovated as part of the Catholic Church’s celebration of the year 1600. During the renovations, St. Cecilia’s body was exhumed, and all were astonished that her body remained perfectly preserved and even emitted a faint odor of flowers. This was seen as a holy miracle and people came from all over Europe to see her perfectly preserved body.

The Sculpture

In 1599, the church commissioned Maderno to sculpt St. Cecelia’s corpse so that it could be prominently displayed to celebrate the miracle after her body was reinterred. It can be seen at the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastavere, Italy. It depicts the body of the Saint in death’s repose, as it was when she was exhumed.

Analysis

St. Cecilia is an early example of the Baroque era’s conventions. The sculpture itself is housing in an ornate depiction of a sarcophagus and is surrounded by the opulence and glory of the Catholic Church.

The body of Cecelia itself is a depiction of her final slumber and invites the viewer into her coffin to witness the miracle of her preservation. The diagonal lines of her arms and the folds of her dress, crossed by the opposite diagonal created by the lines of her legs and neck, are also conventions that would be repeated throughout the Baroque period.

These diagonals create an element of dynamism in the piece that belies the inertness of the subject.

Maderno also uses the empty spaces between Cecelia’s arms, below her chin, and between her feet, to create darkness and shadow that transition based on the light, revealing more details of the sculpture, creating a sense of immediacy and intimacy to the viewing.

  

 

The Council of Trent

The Council of Trent had a significant impact on, not only the work of Maderno on the sculpture, but also the events that led to the discovery of St. Cecilia’s body. The turning of a new century is often a time of renewed religious fervor and the approaching year 1600 must have felt portentous to both Protestants and Catholics. One of the results of the Council of Trent was a renewed focus by the Catholic Church to create a sense of immediacy and dynamism to the church to lure those souls lost to Protestantism back to the Holy Roman Church.

The new turning of the new century would see many pilgrims coming to Rome and an edict was pronounced that the Holy City needed to look its best to reassert the Church’s dominance in the face of the Reformation. It was this edict that motivated the Cardinal of the basilica of St. Cecilia to renovate the church. When the Saint’s body was found in its miraculous state, it was proof that the Catholic Church was the one true faith and led to the commission of Maderno’s sculpture to commemorate that momentous occasion. Many Catholics that were wavering in their faith likely experienced a renewed commitment to the church after viewing the body of Cecilia.

 

References

 

Bikhui, Tutt'Art. "Stefano Maderno; Baroque era style sculptor." n.d. tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com. https://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2011/01/stefano-maderno.html#:~:text=Stefano%20Maderno%20(1576%2D1636,born%20near%20Como%2C%20at%20Bissone. 22 February 2021.

Catholic Online. "St. Cecilia." n.d. Catholic.org. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=34. 22 February 2021.

McKay, Brett and Kate McKay. "The Basics of Art: The Baroque Period." 18 October 2010. artofmanliness.com. https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/the-basics-of-art-the-baroque-period/. 22 February 2021.

Through Eternity Tours. "This is my body: Stefano Maderno and the miraculous body of St. Cecilia." 02 October 2020. througheternity.com. https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/art/saint-cecilia-trastevere-blog.html#. 22 February 2021.