My essay on this work is posted under ESSAYS BY PERIOD (scroll down to 17th Italian). My essay discusses Catholic Counter-Reformation ideas on dying well and nuptial piety or mystical marriage whereby the soul unites with God like a husband and wife in perfect harmony. The new Baroque Catholic imagery of hearts and fire (flaming hearts) is also discussed, along with the erotic interopretation of death and Christian devotion. For more on fire, see my essay on Pozzo's Triumph of St. Ignatius.
