Realism and empathy : Ta' Ġieżu Crucifix as a visual manifestation of post-tridentine culture

Abstract

The intricately and realistically rendered signs of violence present on Ta' Ġieżu Crucifix are amongst its most notable characteristics. The tactile rendering of suppurating, gaping wounds, scars, hematomas and lacerated skin, adds an element of shocking verisimilitude to the image which, together with the ungainly posture, the emaciated body and the pitiably visible rib-cage portray an image of a man pushed to the extreme. Ultimately, this is an image that leaves little to the imagination. The physical suffering associated with Christ's final ordeal as described by the evangelists and especially in the writings of the mystic St Bridget of Sweden, is here reified and made corporeal and three-dimensional. It is reasonable to believe that the seventeenthcentury worshipper, praying beneath this effigy, would have felt the physical nearness of Christ, as if wood and paint had transubstantiated into flesh and blood. The worshipper would thus have experienced a visceral, empathetic reaction to the image, very much in line with the requirements of a post-Tridentine Church.