The Crucifix by Giotto (1300)
Tempera on panel.
Photo credit: ARTStor
The Crucifix is perhaps the most prominent depiction of death in Western culture. It serves to remind viewers of the suffering Jesus endured on the cross. Lorenzo Carletti and Francesca Polacci both note that, unlike most portrayals of death in Western art, crucifixion scenes are meant to show death as a process, instead of as a final state.5 Giotto’s Crucifix depicts Christ’s suffering as more human than his predecessors, who favored depicting Christ as proud and unharmed upon the cross.6 Giotto’s Christ is thin, slumped forward, and bleeding from his wounds. I remember the most surprising detail being the blood spurting out from Christ’s rib, which reminded me of gory and campy horror movies. I saw this right after looking at Massacio’s Holy Trinity and the difference in realism struck me, but it wasn’t ineffective. As I passed under this crucifix, I did feel slightly queasy, as if the blood would hit me too.
Saint Catherine’s Disembodied Head
Saint Catherine was a revered tertiary of the Dominican Order who spent most of her lifetime promoting peace between various factions in Italy.7 Born in Siena, she died in Rome, where most of her body now lies. However, her head was severed, encased in bronze, and brought back to Siena in a procession to the Dominican church. The popular story surrounding the return of Catherine’s head to Siena says that robbers who had snuck into Rome knew they could not bring the whole body back. Instead, they chose to take her head, which they placed in a bag. When the bag was inspected by Roman guards, they found nothing but rose petals. Upon their return to Siena, they opened the bag and her head appeared once again. Because of this, Catherine is often depicted holding a rose.8 I liked the story behind Saint Catherine’s head because it revealed this great obsession with the body as a holy site. I couldn’t get a picture because of the massive amount of people who jostled to get a picture of her. It struck me as quite interesting, if not a bit creepy, that this woman’s severed head was put on display like that. For someone so revered, it seemed a bit humiliating and the image stayed with me for a long time after.
5. Carletti, L., Polacci, F. (2014) Transition between life and afterlife: analyzing The Triumph of Death in the Camposanto of Pisa. Signs and Society, 2(S1), 84-120.
6. Carletti, L., Polacci, F.
7. Gardner, E.(1908).St. Catherine of Siena.The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
8.Gardner, E.
A Death in Tuscany 
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