A imagem de Benigna Cardoso da Silva segundo a foto que falta

Abstract

This research reflects on the image of Benigna Cardoso da Silva (1928 - 1941), brutally murdered at the age of 13 on October 24, 1941, after resisting sexual assault. Venerated as a popular saint since her death, the girl from Santana do Cariri, an inland town in Ceará, was beatified by the Vatican in 2022 in recognition of her martyrdom. Although she is strongly present in the imagination of the faithful, no photograph of Benigna exists. This work investigates how the Catholic Church has constructed her image and analyzes the effects and responses to this logic of control through representation. We propose three ways of looking at her image: (1) through facial reconstructions and the search for an authentic image (Belting, 2011; Benjamin, 2012) of her face in the context of the beatification process; (2) through the emotions and passionate energy (Warburg, 2015; Didi-Huberman, 2013) evoked by the narrative of her death, and through the affective and meaningful bonds (Baitello Jr., 2018) produced and associated with her image; and (3) through the concepts, conflicts, and other interpretations directly connected to the communicational and geographical environment of the Benigna-image – a term we adopt to refer to the phenomenon under investigation. The methodology articulates an anthropological perspective on the image, based on the contributions of Hans Belting (2007; 2009; 2011; 2019), as well as empirical experiences conducted in the Cariri region of Ceará, the research’s place of origin. This is a study with images, addressing contemporary aesthetic, political, ethical, and poetic issues.