In reality they all lived in a kind of hieroglyphic world, where the real thing was never said or done or even thought, but only represented by a set of arbitrary signs.

Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence (Oxford World's Classics) (p. 32).

I saw this 10 years ago. At first I didn't understand that the "drape" he holds is his own skin. 😲 I'd thought the sculptor chose this saint as a way to bring scientific queries (what makes a human) into a religious context, but the article I sent makes a different argument (with great pictures).

Hi again. This book cover makes me think of the statue of St. Bartholomew (flayed alive!) in the Milano Duomo. Have you seen it? mainlymuseums.com/post/1174/th...

Agreed. This is amazing!