The present panel is a masterpiece of one of the great protagonists of seventeenth-century painting; the Ferrara-born Carlo Bononi, whose name has been compared to those of Tintoretto and Caravaggio. Guido Reni admired his "great wisdom in design and in the strength of color.” Bononi emotes a pictorial language that places emotion at the center; the intimate and sentimental relationship between the painted figures and the observer. This can be clearly seen in the case of St. Cristina who, bent over by her executioners, turns her desperate and suffering gaze towards the sky. Bononi’s wise use of light and masterful theatricality make him one of the first Baroque painters. Bononi was also a great naturalist. In his works, he incorporated sacred dialogues with the everyday; personifying saints, madonnas and executioners as real and concretely recognizable people.
The painting is a clear reference to the famous painting by Correggio “The martyrdom of the saints Placido, Flavia, Eutichio and Vittorino” (Parma, abbazia di San Giovanni Evangelista), especially as regards the figure of the saint.
, Oil on wood, 54 x 39 cm
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