Theatrum Pietatis: Images, Devotion, and Lay Drama

The paper sets the stage for several performance texts that are closely identified with confraternities. The contribution concentrates on the theatrum pietatis, representations of the deposition of Christ from the cross, whether as a grouping of statues (or some other static representations) or as a living tableau, which became more prevalent after the thirteenth century, with the rise, in Italy, of the confraternities of flagellants. The body of Christ, in whatever its form is represented to the faithful as a source of both private and communal devotion. The dichotomy posited between dramatic art and plastic art is resolved in the contemplation of the suffering Christ, in that both forms of art have but one intention: to engender piety in the beholder.