St. Bartholomew statue in Duomo, Milan Cathedral

St Bartholomew was one of 12 Apostles and an early Christian martyr that was skinned. This statue was made by Marco d’Agrate in 1562 (Duomo cathedral, Milan-Italy). If you look closely, you’ll notice that’s not a robe, but actually his removed skin hanging around him. Such a macabre motif of the flayed Apostle carrying his own skin, was first met in The Last Judgment (Michelangelo) and continued to be a common representation, not only for St. Bartholomews in paintings, but also in the later artistic Anatomy manuscripts as I have posted some time before.