In the Cathedral of St Andrew the Apostle (Sant'Andrea Apostolo) in Verola, in the altar of the Nocchiaroli family chapel, there is a painting entitled 'The Martyrdom of St Bartholomew' by Tadeusz Kuntze, the most outstanding painter associated with the Republic in the 18th century.

Tadeusz Kuntze - short biography
The artist was born in Zielona Góra, in Silesia, then within the Habsburg monarchy. In the years 1747-1756, he studied in Rome at the expense of Andrzej Stanisław Kostka Załuski, Bishop of Kraków, painting the paintings commissioned by him from at least 1753. In 1756 or 1757, he arrived in Kraków, where he carried out further commissions from his patron. After his death, he returned to Italy in 1759. Although he never visited the Commonwealth again, he continued to create works for Polish churches, including the cathedral in Lutsk (now in Ukraine), where his two monumental canvases, 'The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary' and 'The Seven Archangels', can still be admired in the transept altars.

Tadeusz Kuntze and his activities in Italy
From the early 1860s, Tadeusz Kuntze remained at the service of the Italian Augustinians. On several artistic projects carried out by the order, including those at Bracciano and Soriano nel Cimino, he collaborated with the architect Nicola Fagioli, who undertook the task of extending the episcopal seminary at Verola before 1764. It is believed that it was thanks to Fagioli's recommendation that the painter acquired wealthy clients from this charming town 100 km south-east of Rome. These included Nicola Nocchiaroli, a diplomat and adviser to Empress Maria Theresa. Together with his brother Giovanni Battista, apostolic protonotary (inflate), they took patronage of the chapel of St Bartholomew in 1734. It was erected in 1690 at the left side aisle of Veroli Cathedral.

The Chapel of St Bartholomew in Veroli Cathedral and its furnishings
In 1765 Nicola Nocchiaroli conceived the intention of making it his family mausoleum, so he commissioned a project for its reconstruction from Domenic Schiera, a renowned architect active in Lazio. After Nicola Nocchiaroli's imminent death, his daughter Francesca, together with her husband Evangelista Torti, supervised the completion of the work.

The chapel, covered by a flattened dome supported by pendentives, received an elegant stucco decoration by Pietro Giacomo De Marchi. The side walls bear the epitaph plaques of Nicola and Giovanni Battista Nocchiaroli, surmounted by their oval relief portraits.

The altarpiece contains a painting depicting a scene of the martyrdom of its patron saint. The canvas is not signed, but there is no doubt that its author is Tadeusz Kuntze. This is confirmed by two documents from the archives of the Nocchiaroli family, held in the Biblioteca Giovardiana in Verola. The first is a letter from the painter addressed to Cardinal Carlo Rezzonica, acting as butler or administrator of the estate of the Holy See. He was responsible, through the commissioner for antiquities and fine arts (commisario alle antichità e belle arti) and his subordinate officials (assessori), for examining applications for permission to export works of art from Rome and for estimating their market price, on the basis of which the amount of tax to be paid by the applicant was determined.

Kuntze asked the Cardinal for permission to export the painting 'The Martyrdom of St Bartholomew', measuring approximately 11 and a half by 6 and a half paces, destined for Verola Cathedral. The letter was accompanied by an official annotation dated 22 November 1767, from which it appears that assessore Stefano Pozzi inspected the painting, confirmed Kuntze's authorship and estimated its value at 60 skuds. The second document mentioned is a receipt dated 20 December 1767 for the sum of 50 skuds, paid to Kuntze by Francesca Nocchiaroli. This would mean that he had to pay tax on an amount higher than the remuneration received. Both documents, which belong to the few known autographs of the painter, attest that he used a capitalised form of his name: Taddeo Cunze.

"The Martyrdom of St Bartholomew" by Tadeusz Kuntze

This painting from Verola Cathedral depicts one of the most dramatic martyrdom scenes in Christian iconography. According to tradition, St Bartholomew, a disciple of Jesus and evangelist of Armenia, was condemned by his brother to be stripped of his skin alive and crucified head down for converting the king of that land to Christianity. Kuntze portrayed the beginning of the execution.

The apostle is stretched out on a beam leaning diagonally against the trunk of a tree, to which his raised hands have been tied. Two executioners are restraining his legs, a third is cutting the skin along his right forearm with a knife. Concentrated on their actions, they fail to notice Mary with the child in her arms, holding a crown over the saint's head in the upper part of the painting, against the background of the heavens. The latter gazes up at the divine figures in adoration, oblivious to the pain inflicted on him.

The body of St Bartholomew marks the diagonal line that dynamises the composition. Half-naked, wearing a white hip-band, he shines brightly against the background of the executioners with their breakfast-coloured skin and dark clothing. The dark brown robe and open book, shown in disarray at the bottom of the composition, contribute to the illusion of depth of space. The sky above the martyrdom scene is streaked with leaden clouds. Only in the upper left part of the painting does a supernatural light shine through, illuminating the figure of Mary in a bleached pink dress and blue cloak.

Other works by Tadeusz Kuntze in Verola

In addition to the 'Martyrdom of St Bartholomew', there was another altarpiece painting by Tadeusz Kuntze in Veroli Cathedral: "Saint John the Baptist with his disciples", which was stolen in 1989 and cut into pieces.

The upper, semicircular part of the canvas with angelic putti, found in the estate of a mafioso, now stored in the cathedral sacristy, was returned to Verola. Unfortunately, it is not known who funded this work or when exactly it was created. During conservation work carried out in 1961, the signature 'T. Kuntze" was discovered. The artist signed the sketch for the painting in the same way, which now belongs to a private collector.