| Veiled Christ | |
|---|---|
| Italian:Cristo Velato | |
_(cropped).jpg) | |
 | |
| Artist | Giuseppe Sanmartino |
| Year | 1753 |
| Type | Sculpture,tomb effigy |
| Medium | Marble |
| Dimensions | 50 cm × 80 cm × 180 cm (20 in × 31 in × 71 in) |
| Location | Cappella Sansevero,Naples, Italy |
Veiled Christ (Italian:Cristo velato) is a carved marbletomb effigy completed in 1753 by theNeapolitan artistGiuseppe Sanmartino. It is formed from a single block of white marble and was commissioned byRaimondo di Sangro, a prince of Sansevero, as the centrepiece of theCappella Sansevero, inNaples, Italy.
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 andtrompe-l'œil veil, the sculpture was thought by many to have been created viaalchemy.[1][2]
The 18th-century sculptorAntonio Canova tried to acquire the work, stating that he would willingly give ten years of his life to have produced something of similar quality.[3]
Seeking to develop his reconstruction of theCappella Sansevero, the Italian noblemanRaimondo di Sangro commissioned the sculptorAntonio Corradini to produce a realistic, life-sized marbletomb effigy ofJesus covered by a shroud. Corradini produced a to-scale terracottabozzetto model, now in theMuseo Nazionale di San Martino, but died shortly after.[2]
The commission passed to the then young Italian sculptorGiuseppe 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 sculpture with the dead Jesus lying 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 thecrucifixion. 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 theinstruments of the passion at Jesus's feet, including pliers, shackles, and thecrown of thorns.[4]
Over the centuries, the masterly depiction of the veil has acquired a legend, in which the original commissioner of the sculpture, the famous scientist andalchemistRaimondo di Sangro, teaches the sculptor how to transform cloth into crystalline marble. Over the centuries 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 localMasonic Lodge and analchemist.[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]
The work was 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 fiftyducats 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.
40°50′57″N14°15′18″E / 40.84919°N 14.25488°E /40.84919; 14.25488
