''The Veiled Rebecca'' or ''The Veiled Rebekah'' is a 19th century sculpture carved out of marble in

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neoclassical style by the

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Giovanni Maria Benzoni Giovanni Maria Benzoni (28 August 1809 – 28 April 1873) was an Italian neoclassical sculptor. He was trained in Rome, where he later set up his own workshop. Benzoni designed some of his sculptures with a production line in mind using ot ...

.The sculpture is also referred as The Veiled Lady in several records. It depicts a biblical figure of Rebecca placed on a marble pedestal. Originally several copies of the sculpture were made by Benzoni in two different sizes. Presently, location of five sculptures are identified -

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

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, listed in the catalog as ''The Veiled Rebekah'' and dated 1864,

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Dated c. 1866,

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(This smaller version (113 cm tall) is listed in the catalog as ''The Veiled Lady'' and dated 1872),

Salar Jung Museum The Salar Jung Museum is an art museum located at Dar-ul-Shifa, on the southern bank of the Musi River, India, Musi River in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is one of the List of museums in India, notable National Museums of India. ...

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, India. Dated 1876 (three years after Benzoni's death). Cedarhurst Center for the Arts,

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.) The one located in

, is the smaller version. The same is noted in 19th-century English art journal :

Description

Benzoni executed principal version of the work in 1863 for Robert Henry Winttie of

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.The sculpture depicts an Old Testament scene, where Rebecca lays eyes on her husband

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

for the first time. Rebecca's head is bowed and her gaze is lowered as she secures her veil indicating demure modesty, although her other hand partially opens up in a welcoming gesture.The fringed veil drapes over her face, head and shoulder, and dangled unevenly above her feet. Her translucent attire further highlights the contour of her body.The illusion of a diaphanous veil and clinging dress created by the craftsmanship of Benzoni are the most noteworthy and skillful aspects of the sculpture.

History

As per the records of a bulletin from

, Detroit Michigan, 37 versions of the composition was made in two sizes whereas Historical Dictionary of Neoclassical Art and Architecture by Alison Lee Palmer states that there are five copies of the sculpture. Location of the five versions of the statues mentioned by Alison Lee Palmer have been mentioned above. Salarjung I Mir Turab Ali Khan Bahadur acquired the sculpture during his trip to

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. During the same visit, he also acquired the famous wooden sculpture, Mephistopheles and Margaretta. The Veiled Rebecca was displayed was originally displayed in the Chini Khana inside the Dewan Devdi, Hyderabad. Chini Khana was a unique room, where all the walls were covered with antique Chinese plates, cups, saucers and silver plates displayed in shelves. In 1951, the Devdi was converted into Salarjung Museum and the sculpture stood in its original position, but in 1968, it was moved into the new Salarjung Museum and Dewan Devdi was gradually demolished over the years.

Style

The Veiled Rebecca is an example of the neoclassical naturalist style, popular during the 19th century. The Veiled Lady, or Rebecca shows how Antonio Canova's and other Neoclassical sculptors' work had an influence on Benzoni as well as how well-versed he was in earlier eighteenth-century sculptural style. As Boström noted, veiled figures first appeared in post-classical art in the eighteenth century. Canova produced various female figures with translucent attire and drapes in the nineteenth century, including Hebe. Later Milanese sculptor Raffaelle Monti created Seated Veiled Woman displayed at London's Great Exhibition of 1851 and then Veiled Woman in 1854 to continued to explore this veiled female form. Benzoni was acquainted with Monti and was present in London in 1851. Veiled women were a popular sculptural motif among Benzoni and his peers in 19th-century Italy for a number of reasons. The first was that these works highlighted the artistry of the sculptor since achieving the illusion that stone is fabric clinging to a body requires a high level of skill. Secondly, a veiled woman had become an allegory for Italian unification.

Gallery

File:The Veiled Rebecca 02.jpg, Detail of the statue at the Salar Jung Museum File:Veiled Rebecca high museum 5-5-16.jpg, ''The Veiled Rebekah'' at the High Museum of Art

Notes

References