Context/Subject/Style
San Juan
Vikan
Schreffler
Bynum
Questions
While the specifics of the work are unknown—its artist, the date it was made, etc.---- its subject is a part of a well-established votive print tradition in Naples during the 1656 plague: Saint Francis Xavier. Only recognizable by his halo and the attribution of identity included below the figural rendering, the reduction of Saint Francis Xavier’s body to its bare outlines allows the print to become a replica of his essence—or what remains after death. The illusion of bodily flesh is not achieved—- its essentiality in the concept of presence emphasized despite the transient or corrupt nature often associated with the human body in Christianity. A lineage of Saint Francis Xavier imagery in Naples draws upon this concept as well as the history of Marcello Mastrilli: A recognized Italian Jesuit missionary and martyr. After being hit in the back of the head with a hammer, it was said that a painted portrait of St Francis Xavier came to him as he was on the verge of death and gave him a choice: replicate the saint’s missionary journey or succumb to his injuries. As his martyr status indicates, Mastrilli chose to replicate Saint Francis Xavier’s missionary journey; But Mastrilli accomplished what the saint could not— spilling sacred, divine blood.
Transience is reflected within the print tradition, as while its ‘material body’ is often discarded after use, the ideas, histories, and images it represents are extended as more copies are made. This veneration of this tradition was prompted by production of these images by both the church and the public street markets. (110) During Mastrilli’s journey, the use of copies of St. Francis Xavier becomes a mirror: leading those engaged with the idea of “healing the body” in this Christian context to look inward to both the limitation of the material body and its intercorporeal relationships. (112) The print’s reappearance within Naples during the Plague of 1656 draws upon the image’s missionary context in order to draw attention to the viewer’s bodily experience. It is the incomplete character of the replica that initiates interiority within its audience—prompting them to complete the experience by drawing upon the knowledge of narratives describing internal experience. (117) Contradictory memories of death via bodily contamination and the continuity of life implied by the Christian idea of transience drew out a desire for saintly presence within the print’s audience that would be left unfulfilled.
Vikan positions the Byzantine icon as one in a perpetual state of “copy.” Byzantines believed that “power and sanctity” resided in all icons—-regardless of their medium, style, expense, etc. (50) A qualitative hierarchy was not imposed among icons during this period; therefore there was no distinguishable difference between copy and original. (50, 51) The icon’s aim was to capture the likeness of the deity or saint—linking its purpose to that of the votive print tradition of Naples during the Plague of 1656. It is in this way we can come to think about the lineage of Saint Francis Xavier imagery as copie building upon the true original: the material body of the saint and his use of the most holy wood of the cross in order to cure Mastrilli.
Just like that of San Juan, Schreffler traces the iconography of “America” and its evolution within print of the late 16th and 17th centuries. He emphasizes a purpose within these works to establish differences between the new world and the cultures of early modern Europe— one that builds off of anxieties about cannibalism in these new territories.(295) The discussion of consumption—-both in the literal and figurative sense—relates to the votive tradition of Saint Francis Xavier in 1656 Naples. Just as the print tradition in question fed off of its predecessors and its attached history, the imagery of America as a cannibal participates in a similar development that results in the production of similar images—-the creation of a recognizable allegory.
Bynum presents the importance of food within the lives of religious women living in the 13th to the 16th centuries. Receiving the Eucharist, both within the context of communion or their starved visions, was an act that brought these women closer to God and the community of Christians around them.(148) Much like how the eucharist was transubstantiated into the body and blood—consumed for the purpose of recognizing Jesus’s sacrifice and becoming one with the divine—-the print of Saint Francis Xavier becomes the saint—-able to replicate the miracle of Mastrilli for those who possess and activate it. Both instances require a belief in the idea of transubstantiation; that these seemingly inanimate objects contain the potential to become divine and holy. This active participation in the ritual activates meaning and spurs the desired result—-whether that be a cure for illness or the union with God.
How would the bodily experience of the image change without knowledge of Saint Francis Xavier? How would those unfamiliar with the story of Marcello Mastrilli’s miracle go about activating the image for its intended purpose? Would it require a larger interiority on part of the viewer or a heavier reliance on the presence of the saint within the image? How would the inclusion of “the most holy wood of the cross” within the visual tradition of Saint Xavier reconcile the lack of presence touched on by San Juan? How would this change the viewer-object dynamic within the Neapolitan print tradition? Would that change the sensorial experience? How is the experience with these objects ruled by an understanding of time that is drawn from the oral and written stories of Marcello Mastrilli? How would this temporality be emphasized by the materiality of these prints?
Object Annotation #5
Morgan Boudousquie
Created on October 21, 2025
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Transcript
Context/Subject/Style
San Juan
Vikan
Schreffler
Bynum
Questions
While the specifics of the work are unknown—its artist, the date it was made, etc.---- its subject is a part of a well-established votive print tradition in Naples during the 1656 plague: Saint Francis Xavier. Only recognizable by his halo and the attribution of identity included below the figural rendering, the reduction of Saint Francis Xavier’s body to its bare outlines allows the print to become a replica of his essence—or what remains after death. The illusion of bodily flesh is not achieved—- its essentiality in the concept of presence emphasized despite the transient or corrupt nature often associated with the human body in Christianity. A lineage of Saint Francis Xavier imagery in Naples draws upon this concept as well as the history of Marcello Mastrilli: A recognized Italian Jesuit missionary and martyr. After being hit in the back of the head with a hammer, it was said that a painted portrait of St Francis Xavier came to him as he was on the verge of death and gave him a choice: replicate the saint’s missionary journey or succumb to his injuries. As his martyr status indicates, Mastrilli chose to replicate Saint Francis Xavier’s missionary journey; But Mastrilli accomplished what the saint could not— spilling sacred, divine blood.
Transience is reflected within the print tradition, as while its ‘material body’ is often discarded after use, the ideas, histories, and images it represents are extended as more copies are made. This veneration of this tradition was prompted by production of these images by both the church and the public street markets. (110) During Mastrilli’s journey, the use of copies of St. Francis Xavier becomes a mirror: leading those engaged with the idea of “healing the body” in this Christian context to look inward to both the limitation of the material body and its intercorporeal relationships. (112) The print’s reappearance within Naples during the Plague of 1656 draws upon the image’s missionary context in order to draw attention to the viewer’s bodily experience. It is the incomplete character of the replica that initiates interiority within its audience—prompting them to complete the experience by drawing upon the knowledge of narratives describing internal experience. (117) Contradictory memories of death via bodily contamination and the continuity of life implied by the Christian idea of transience drew out a desire for saintly presence within the print’s audience that would be left unfulfilled.
Vikan positions the Byzantine icon as one in a perpetual state of “copy.” Byzantines believed that “power and sanctity” resided in all icons—-regardless of their medium, style, expense, etc. (50) A qualitative hierarchy was not imposed among icons during this period; therefore there was no distinguishable difference between copy and original. (50, 51) The icon’s aim was to capture the likeness of the deity or saint—linking its purpose to that of the votive print tradition of Naples during the Plague of 1656. It is in this way we can come to think about the lineage of Saint Francis Xavier imagery as copie building upon the true original: the material body of the saint and his use of the most holy wood of the cross in order to cure Mastrilli.
Just like that of San Juan, Schreffler traces the iconography of “America” and its evolution within print of the late 16th and 17th centuries. He emphasizes a purpose within these works to establish differences between the new world and the cultures of early modern Europe— one that builds off of anxieties about cannibalism in these new territories.(295) The discussion of consumption—-both in the literal and figurative sense—relates to the votive tradition of Saint Francis Xavier in 1656 Naples. Just as the print tradition in question fed off of its predecessors and its attached history, the imagery of America as a cannibal participates in a similar development that results in the production of similar images—-the creation of a recognizable allegory.
Bynum presents the importance of food within the lives of religious women living in the 13th to the 16th centuries. Receiving the Eucharist, both within the context of communion or their starved visions, was an act that brought these women closer to God and the community of Christians around them.(148) Much like how the eucharist was transubstantiated into the body and blood—consumed for the purpose of recognizing Jesus’s sacrifice and becoming one with the divine—-the print of Saint Francis Xavier becomes the saint—-able to replicate the miracle of Mastrilli for those who possess and activate it. Both instances require a belief in the idea of transubstantiation; that these seemingly inanimate objects contain the potential to become divine and holy. This active participation in the ritual activates meaning and spurs the desired result—-whether that be a cure for illness or the union with God.
How would the bodily experience of the image change without knowledge of Saint Francis Xavier? How would those unfamiliar with the story of Marcello Mastrilli’s miracle go about activating the image for its intended purpose? Would it require a larger interiority on part of the viewer or a heavier reliance on the presence of the saint within the image? How would the inclusion of “the most holy wood of the cross” within the visual tradition of Saint Xavier reconcile the lack of presence touched on by San Juan? How would this change the viewer-object dynamic within the Neapolitan print tradition? Would that change the sensorial experience? How is the experience with these objects ruled by an understanding of time that is drawn from the oral and written stories of Marcello Mastrilli? How would this temporality be emphasized by the materiality of these prints?