Abstract
My paper examines the complex relationship between the visual arts and inquisitorial power in early modern Spain through the analysis of Pedro Berruguete's Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-fé (circa 1490). As the first and most emblematic Spanish painting to depict the public ceremony in which the Inquisition announced its sentences, this work has always been interpreted as a propagandistic image aimed at celebrating the Holy Office. The institutional nature of its commission and exhibition – closely connected with the Dominicans – encourages this reading. However, by anchoring my interpretation in the turbulent historical context surrounding the establishment of the Inquisition in Spain, I argue instead that Berruguete produced a multi-layered painting that also echoed the misgivings of many of his contemporaries about the new institution's methods.
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