L'INVENZIONE DELL'ICONOGRAFIA IN VISCERIBUS CHRISTI: DAI PRODROMI MEDIEVALI DELLA DEVOZIONE CORDICOLARE ALLA RAPPRESENTAZIONE MODERNA DELLE VISCERE DI CRISTO

In the second half of the seventeenth century, a particular type of wax crucifix emerged, which was characterized by an opening on the sternum showing part of the Saviour's thoracic and abdominal cavity, with the anatomical representation of the inner organs. Through the examination of surviving examples (mostly unpublished) and recourse to scriptural, patristic, and other literary sources, this paper analyzes the origin and the meaning – theological, symbolic, and iconological – of this invention, demonstrating its connection to the devotion of the Sacred Heart of Christ, propagated especially by the Jesuits, and its intent to represent the divine mercy of Christ. As a matter of fact, the rather summary representation of the internal organs shows that the aim of these objects was not scientific precision, but a symbolic representation. For this reason, instead of the expression Christus anatomicus that has been used in earlier literature, this paper proposes to adopt the term in visceribus Christi for this iconography: this expression refers to a privileged spiritual relationship with the Saviour in the hope of moving his entrails to receive his mercy. Both the style of the existing examples and their geographical distribution suggests that Southern Italy, especially Sicily, was the main area of production.