Abstract
In 1982 one hundred and seven victims sought help in the psychiatric wing of Santa Maria Novella after being dramatically affected by the city's great works of art. This reaction to a work of art is compared to Roland Barthes's idea of punctum , which he characterized as the part of a photograph that elicited an ineffable response from the viewer. This chapter scrutinizes the drama that animates the figures composing the Well of Moses: how do one explain the pulsing temples of Isaiah, the anger in Daniel's gesture, and the wrinkles in Moses's brow? In what way does the Well of Moses bow to the ideals of Carthusian contemplation and engage the worshiper in the act of performative piety? Indeed, does this power to move the viewer correspond to the punctum Barthes elicits in the photograph's power to defeat time, to embody what has been and will be no longer?. Keywords: punctum ; Roland Barthes; Well of Moses
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