5. Saint Bartholomew’s Chapel

You are in the Chapel of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle.

In front of you stands a marvelous Baroque altarpiece, full of life and movement. Take a look at the Solomonic columns. Between them, there are 17 birds flapping their wings and singing, creating an atmosphere of joy. Contemplate them… you will notice that some of them are pecking at grapes of different colors, which look almost real and remind us of the Eucharist wine.

Step a little closer and observe the richness of the polychromy. It is especially evident in the garments of the saints who are depicted. Baroque art seeks to convey both human and divine emotions, expressing them with intensity and even a touch of theatricality.

Before a Baroque work like this, the eye hardly knows where to rest. Everything suggests energy, vitality, change, and renewal. Its many symbolic elements can feel almost overwhelming, like listening to someone describe a deeply moving experience and struggling to find words because they have so much to say.

We know that the author of this altarpiece is Francis Santacruz, who initiated it in 1672. He belonged to a lineage of artists who also created two other altarpieces in the monastery: that of Saint Benedict and that of Saint Scholastica.

Now let us focus on the large painting in the center. It represents the martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew. In the four Gospels, Saint Bartholomew appears in the list of the twelve apostles, but no scene is narrated in which he is the protagonist.

His life was later spread through the Golden Legend, a work written by the Dominican Jacobus de Voragine in the 13th century. According to this account, Bartholomew had great power over demons, who hid inside the images of pagan idols for fear of the saint. It is said that he converted King Polymius and that he commanded a demon to destroy all the statues of the idols in his presence.

Now observe the details of the painting. On the left side, there is a dark-skinned figure: it is the demon who, according to the Golden Legend, lived inside the statue of the idol that we now see broken on the ground. He is laughing because his enemy is being tortured. At the center of the painting, we see the apostle Bartholomew suffering martyrdom. Tradition tells us that he was flayed alive.

The scene is very harsh, but notice the contrast with the expression on his face: there is no despair, but a serene calm. While the executioner pulls at his skin, the saint keeps his gaze fixed on the sky, where he finds God’s comfort and strength. This powerful image conveys a message of hope that we can all make our own: that fidelity and faith can sustain us even in the most extreme moments.

Take some time to contemplate the whole ensemble and allow this expressive language of the Baroque to fill all your senses.