The ''Veiled Christ'' (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Cristo velato'') is a 1753

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

sculpture by Giuseppe Sanmartino exhibited in the Cappella Sansevero,

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. ''Veiled Christ'' is considered one of the world's most remarkable sculptures, and legendarily thought to have been created by

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

. Sculptor Antonio Canova, who tried to acquire the work, declared that he would willingly give up ten years of his life to produce a similar masterpiece.

History and description

''Veiled Christ''s production was originally assigned to the sculptor

Antonio Corradini Antonio Corradini (19 October 1688 – 12 August 1752) was an Italian Rococo sculptor from Venice. He is best known for his illusory veiled depictions of human body, where the contours of the face and bodies beneath the veil are discernible. Bo ...

, who specialized in veiled statues. However, Corradini died a short time later, having produced only a terracotta

bozzetto A ''maquette'' (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the Italian names ''plastico'' or ''modello'') is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', from the Italian word for "sketc ...

(today displayed at the Museo Nazionale di San Martino). The job thus passed to 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." Sanmartino produced a work with the dead Christ 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 Christ had undergone during the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

. Signs of Jesus's pain can be seen on his face and body. Shaping further detail into the marble block, at Jesus's feet Sanmartino has carved depictions of the

instruments of the passion Arma Christi ("weapons of Christ"), or the Instruments of the Passion, are the objects associated with the Passion of Jesus Christ in Christian symbolism and art. They are seen as arms in the sense of heraldry, and also as the weapons Chris ...

: pliers, shackles, and the

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the in ...

Legend of the veil

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 Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero (30 January 1710 – 22 March 1771) was an Italian nobleman, inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason best remembered for his reconstruction of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples. Early l ...

, 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 the prince. 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. 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 states: In other letters, di Sangro also states that the veil was produced from the same block of stone as the statue.

References

Bibliography

* Marco Bussagli
''Sansevero Chapel and the Veiled Christ in Naples''
Bologna, Scripta Maneant, 2019, * Elio Catello, ''Giuseppe Sanmartino (1720-1793)'', Napoli, Electa, 2004.

External links

* {{commons category-inline, Veiled Christ (Cappella Sansevero), ''Veiled Christ'' (Cappella Sansevero)
Official website of the Museum of the Cappella Sansevero
Baroque sculptures Marble sculptures in Italy Statues of Jesus Cappella Sansevero Christian art about death Sculptures depicting the Entombment of Christ Veiled statues

History and description

Legend of the veil

See also

References

Bibliography

External links