Damien Hirst – hate it or love it. His work has spoken for itself since the beginning, and has built an enterprise on a monstrous scale. His ‘Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain’ piece back in 2006 is one to admire. Take a look in comparison from the original depictions by Michelangelo and Marco D’Agrate. Learn more at his newly launched site: www.damienhirst.com
“Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain’, is a bronze sculpture which follows the Christian artistic tradition of depicting the martyred apostle with his flayed skin and instruments of torture. The work was inspired partially by etchings and paintings of the saint Hirst was exposed to as a child educated in a Catholic school, and partially by Marco D’Agrate’s statue of Saint Bartholomew draped in his own skin (1562) which stands outside the Duomo in Milan.
‘Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain’ acts as a reminder that the strict demarcation between art, religion and science is a relatively recent development. Hirst explains that historically, depictions of Saint Bartholomew (the patron saint of doctors and surgeons) were often used by medics to aid their anatomy studies. In Hirst’s interpretation, the serene saint stands on a table littered with the tools used to make the original sculpture. He holds a scalpel, as according to traditional depictions, but also a pair of scissors. Inspired by Tim Burton’s film ‘Edward Scissorhands’ (1990), this addition implies that ‘ his exposure and pain is seemingly self- inflicted. It’s kind of beautiful yet tragic.’ “
source: Photographed by Stephen White © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.
sculpture: Bronze, 2500 x 1100 x 950 mm | 98.4 x 43.3 x 37.4 in | Edition 1 of 6 + 2 APs + 1 HC
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