Veiled Christ

Last updated
Veiled Christ
Italian: Cristo Velato
Cappella Sansevero (15041603867) (cropped).jpg
Artist Giuseppe Sanmartino
Year1753
TypeSculpture, tomb effigy
MediumMarble
Dimensions50 cm× 80 cm× 180 cm(20 in× 31 in× 71 in)
Location Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy
Detail of Jesus's head and veil Cristo Velato Volto.jpg
Detail of Jesus's head and veil

Veiled Christ (Italian: Cristo velato) is a carved marble sculpture completed in 1753 by the Neapolitan artist Giuseppe Sanmartino. It is formed from a single block of white marble, and was commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro, a prince of Sansevero, as the centerpiece of the Cappella Sansevero, in Naples, Italy.

Contents

It is regarded as Sanmartino’s masterpiece, largely due to the rendering of the transparent veil, and thus considered one of the world's most remarkable sculptures. Due to its life-like representation of the body of Jesus and the illusionary and trompe-l'œil veil, the sculpture was thought by many to have been created via alchemy. [1] [2]

It is considered a masterpiece of 18th-century sculpture and launched Sanmartino's career.

History and description

Seeking to further develop his reconstruction of the Cappella Sansevero, the Italian nobleman Raimondo di Sangro commissioned the sculptor Antonio Corradini to produce a realistic, life-sized marble tomb effigy of Jesus covered by a shroud. Corradini produced a to-scale terracotta bozzetto model, now in the Museo Nazionale di San Martino, but died shortly after. [2]

One of Antonio Corradini's 36 terracotta models. Museo Nazionale di San Martino BozzettoCristoVelatoSanMartino (cropped).jpg
One of Antonio Corradini's 36 terracotta models. Museo Nazionale di San Martino

The commission passed to the then young Giuseppe Sanmartino, who was charged with producing "a marble statue sculpted with the greatest realism, representing Our Lord Jesus Christ in death, covered by a transparent shroud carved from the same block of stone as the statue." [4]

Abandoning Corradini's earlier model, [2] Sanmartino produced a work with the dead Jesus laid on a couch, covered by a veil which adheres perfectly to his form. The mastery of the Neapolitan sculptor lies in his successful depiction, looking through the veil, of the suffering that Jesus had undergone during the crucifixion. Signs of Jesus's pain can be seen on his face and body. The sculpture became highly praised, and helped launch Sanmartino's career. [2]

Shaping further detail into the marble block, Sanmartino placed depictions of the instruments of the passion at Jesus's feet, including pliers, shackles, and the crown of thorns. [4]

Legend of the veil

Raimondo di Sangro Francesco de Mura - Raimondo di Sangro.png
Raimondo di Sangro

Over the centuries, the masterly depiction of the veil has acquired a legend, in which the original commissioner of the sculpture, the famous scientist and alchemist Raimondo di Sangro, teaches the sculptor how to transform cloth into crystalline marble. Over the years many visitors to the Cappella, amazed by the veiled sculpture, erroneously believed it to be the result of an alchemical "marblification" performed by di Sangro, a Grand Master of the local Masonic Lodge and an alchemist. [2] He was said to have laid a real veil on the sculpture, and to have transformed this veil into marble, over time, by means of a chemical process. [5]

In reality, a close analysis leaves no doubt that the work was entirely produced in marble. This is also confirmed by some letters written at the time of its production. A receipt of payment to Sanmartino, dated 16 December 1752 and signed by the prince, is preserved in the Historical archive of the Bank of Naples and reads: "And you will pay the aforementioned fifty ducats to the Magnificent Giuseppe Sanmartino on my behalf, for the statue of Our Lord in death covered by a veil also of marble" (E per me gli suddetti ducati cinquanta gli pagarete al Magnifico Giuseppe Sanmartino in conto della statua di Nostro Signore morto coperta da un velo ancor di marmo). [5]

In other letters, di Sangro writes that the veil was produced from the same block of stone as the statue.

Critique

The 18th century sculptor Antonio Canova tried to acquire the work, stating that he would willingly give ten years of his life to have produced something of similar quality. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Veiled Virgin</i> Marble sculpture by Giovanni Strazza

The Veiled Virgin is a Carrara marble statue carved in Rome by Italian sculptor Giovanni Strazza (1818–1875) depicting the bust of a veiled Virgin Mary. The exact date of the statue's completion is unknown, but it was probably in the early 1850s. The veil gives the appearance of being translucent, but is carved of marble. The technique is similar to Giuseppe Sanmartino's 1753 statue Veiled Christ in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collegio Clementino</span> Building in Rome, Italy

The Collegio Clementino is a palace in Rome, central Italy, sited between the Strada del'Orso and the banks of the Tiber. It was founded by Pope Clement VIII in 1595, to host Slavonian refugees. Giacomo della Porta was commissioned to erect a suitable building to house them, which would be one of the aged architect's last projects. On February 25, 1601, Urban VIII shifted the Slavs to Loreto and refounded the Collegio Clementino as an elite school for young noblemen of every nation and the richest families in Rome. The musical tradition of the Collegio Clementino remained strong: Alessandro Scarlatti wrote oratorios for Carnival seasons and came up from Naples to oversee their production.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Corradini</span> Italian sculptor

Antonio Corradini was an Italian Rococo sculptor from Venice. He is best known for his illusory veiled depictions of the human body, where the contours of the face and body beneath the veil are discernible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cappella Sansevero</span> Chapel in Naples, Italy

The Cappella Sansevero is a chapel located on Via Francesco de Sanctis 19, just northwest of the church of San Domenico Maggiore, in the historic center of Naples, Italy. The chapel is more properly named the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà. It contains works of Rococo art by some of the leading Italian artists of the 18th century.

Francesco Queirolo was an Italian Genoese-born sculptor, active in Rome and Naples during the Rococo period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innocenzo Spinazzi</span> Italian sculptor

Innocenzo Spinazzi (1726–1798) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo period active in Rome and Florence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Mazzuoli (1644–1725)</span> Italian sculptor (1644-1725)

Giuseppe Mazzuoli was an Italian sculptor working in Rome in the Bernini-derived Baroque style. He produced many highly accomplished sculptures of up to monumental scale but was never a leading figure in the Roman art world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raimondo di Sangro</span> Italian nobleman, inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason

Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero was an Italian nobleman, inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason best remembered for his reconstruction of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples.

<i>Cristo Redentore</i>

The Statue of Christ the Redeemer of Maratea is a statue of Jesus Christ in Maratea, southern Italy, realized in Carrara marble on the top of the Mountain “St. Biagio".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giuseppe Sanmartino</span> Italian sculptor (1720–1793)

Giuseppe Sanmartino was a prominent Italian sculptor in Naples during the late Baroque period who focused on religious sculptures. His most famous work is the Veiled Christ (1753) in Sansevero Chapel in Naples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palazzo d'Afflitto</span> Palace in Naples, Italy

The Palazzo D'Afflitto is a palace located in the San Giuseppe neighbourhood of Naples, Italy, adjacent to the Palazzo Capomazza di Campolattaro. It used to belong to the princely family d'Afflitto. In the third floor is the recently restored Church of the Real Monte Manso di Scala, built atop the famed Cappella Sansevero. The palace was built in the 15th century but underwent numerous reconstructions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anatomical Machines</span> 18th century anatomical models

The Anatomical Machines are a pair of anatomical models reproducing the human circulatory system, displayed in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples. Created in the second half of the 18th century, they are constructed over a male and a female human skeleton. The reproduction of the vessel system is formed of metal wire, wax, and silk, but because of its richness of detail it was for a long time believed to be of natural origin.

<i>The Veiled Nun</i> Italian marble sculpture

The Veiled Nun is a marble bust depicting a female figure, sculpted by an unidentified Italian workshop c. 1863. Despite its name, the woman depicted is not a nun.

<i>Modesty</i> (Corradini sculpture) Italian marble sculpture

Modesty or Chastity or Veiled Truth by Antonio Corradini is a sculpture completed in 1752 during the Rococo period. Corradini was commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro to sculpt a memorial for his mother in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples, where the marble sculpture still remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palazzo di Sangro</span>

Palazzo di Sangro, also known as either Palazzo de Sangro di Sansevero or Palazzo Sansevero, is a late-Renaissance-style aristocratic palace facing the church of San Domenico Maggiore, separated by the via named after the church, in the city center of Naples, Italy. Part of the palace facade faces the piazza in front of the church, which is also bordered to the south by the Palazzo di Sangro di Casacalenda.

Francesco Liani was an Italian painter, mainly known for his portraits of the Neapolitan royal family.

<i>Vestal Virgin Tuccia</i> (Corradini sculpture) Larger-than-life marble sculpture created in 1743 by Antonio Corradini

The Vestal Virgin Tuccia or Veiled Woman is a marble sculpture created in 1743 by Antonio Corradini, a Venetian Rococo sculptor known for his illusory depictions of female allegorical figures covered with veils that reveal the fine details of the forms beneath. The work is housed in the Palazzo Barberini, Rome.

<i>Veiled Vestal</i> 1847 sculpture by Raffaelle Monti

The Veiled Vestal is an 1847 sculpture by Raffaelle Monti. It was commissioned by William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire during an 1846 trip to Naples. It is a representation of a Vestal Virgin, the priestesses of the Ancient Roman goddess Vesta. The subject was popular at this time due to the then recent discovery of the House of the Vestals in Pompeii. The depiction of translucent fabrics was popular at the time and Monti was requested to use the technique in this sculpture. Monti completed the sculpture in April 1847 and it was afterwards displayed at Cavendish's West London Chiswick House.

Trojano or Troiano Spinelli was an Italian nobleman, philosopher, economist, and historian, active in Naples.

Carlo Amalfi or Aniello was an Italian painter, active in the Kingdom of Naples as mainly a portrait artist.

References

  1. Albright (2013), p. 19
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Istvan, Rachel. "The Veiled Christ: Art or Alchemy?". DailyArt Magazine, 3 August 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2023
  3. Draper (2004), p. 134
  4. 1 2 "Cristo velato: la statua" (in Italian). Museo della Cappella Sansevero. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24.
  5. 1 2 "Cristo velato: la leggenda del velo" (in Italian). Museo della Cappella Sansevero. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24.
  6. "Cristo velato: il capolavoro" (in Italian). Museo della Cappella Sansevero. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24.

Sources

40°50′57″N14°15′18″E / 40.84919°N 14.25488°E / 40.84919; 14.25488