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Italian Sculptor Created A Marble Masterpiece In 7 Years And People Can’t Believe It’s All Marble
The Cappella Sansevero, a chapel in the historic center of Naples, Italy, is one of the most awe-inspiring spaces on Earth. Everywhere you look, you are confronted by marble statues of astonishing beauty, a bevy of masterpieces from 18th century Italian artists that have left visitors scratching their heads in wonder for hundreds of years. How can such intricate works possibly have been carved from marble slabs?
Image credits: SomaSantutxu
Il Disinganno (Disillusion or Release from Deception), the classical art masterpiece of Genoese artist Francesco Queirolo, is one piece in particular that leaves patrons puzzled. It portrays a man breaking free from a delicate, elaborately carved net, helpfully assisted by the presence of a winged angel. According to the museum’s website, the sculpture is steeped in symbolism.
Image credits: SomaSantutxu
Image credits: SomaSantutxu
“The group of white marble sculptures describes a man who has been set free of sin, represented by the net into which the Genoese artist put all his extraordinary skill,” they write. “A little-winged spirit, with a small flame on his forehead, a symbol of the human intellect, helps the man to free himself from the intricate netting while pointing to the globe at his feet, symbol of worldly passions. An open book rests on the globe; it is the Bible, a sacred text, but also one of the three “great lights” of Masonry. The bas-relief on the pedestal, with the story of Jesus restoring sight to the blind, accompanies, and strengthens the meaning of the allegory.”
Image credits: museosansevero
Image credits: museosansevero
“In his book Istoria dello Studio di Napoli (1753-54), Giangiuseppe Origlia rightly defines this marble stone statue as ‘the last and most trying test to which sculpture can aspire.’ The reference is naturally to the virtuoso work on the net, which amazed famous eighteenth- and nineteenth-century travelers, and continues to astound tourists today.”
Image credits: iamalsout
Image credits: ancienteurope
“In this regard, the story goes that – as had already happened to the famous sculptor years before, when he was working on another statue – the sculptor had to burnish the sculpture with pumice personally. The craftsmen of the period, though specialized in the burnishing phase, refused to touch the delicate net in case it broke into pieces in their hands.”
Image credits: iamalsout
Image credits: museosansevero
Other notable masterpieces among the 28-piece Italian art collection include The Veiled Truth (Pudicizia, also called Modesty or Chastity) which was completed by Antonio Corradini in 1750 as a tomb monument. and the 1753 Christ Veiled under a Shroud (also called Veiled Christ), by Giuseppe Sanmartino, which shows the influence of the veiled Modesty.
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Modesty
Image credits: museosansevero
Image credits: museosansevero
Education
Image credits: museosansevero
The Statue
Image credits: museosansevero
Image credits: museosansevero
Image credits: museocappellasansevero
So if you’re in the region and are considering visiting the fascinating city of Naples (also known for the nearby ruins of ancient Pompeii, a brilliant football team and the best pizza in the world), you must certainly have this amazing place at the top of your list!
Here’s what people had to say about the breathtaking sculptures
What do you think ?
Stefano Aprea 5 years ago
I was born in Naples and for 44 years I used to live at about 15 mins walking from Sansevero Chapel. Since I was 13, I started to visit the chapel not less than 2 times per year. It's an absolutely magic place, and if you are lucky to visit it when is empty (i used to bribe the keeper with some cigarette packs and enter when was closed to the public) you can feel on your skin the weird vibrations and humming that that place has. The Count of Sansevero is believed to have been a sorcerer too, related to freemasonry, and other cults.
FortnitePlayerGirl 5 years ago
These beautiful sculptures prove that hard work pays off. The vivid postures and expressions are so realistic that they look like real people. Congratulations!
Night Owl 5 years ago
They really look like real people (and objects) frozen in time and turned into stone. Truly exceptional work
Load More Replies...
Андрей Сергеевич Консолэ 5 years ago
I've been there twice so far. It astonishes me every time.
Stefano Aprea 5 years ago
I was born in Naples and for 44 years I used to live at about 15 mins walking from Sansevero Chapel. Since I was 13, I started to visit the chapel not less than 2 times per year. It's an absolutely magic place, and if you are lucky to visit it when is empty (i used to bribe the keeper with some cigarette packs and enter when was closed to the public) you can feel on your skin the weird vibrations and humming that that place has. The Count of Sansevero is believed to have been a sorcerer too, related to freemasonry, and other cults.
FortnitePlayerGirl 5 years ago
These beautiful sculptures prove that hard work pays off. The vivid postures and expressions are so realistic that they look like real people. Congratulations!
Night Owl 5 years ago
They really look like real people (and objects) frozen in time and turned into stone. Truly exceptional work
Load More Replies... Андрей Сергеевич Консолэ 5 years ago
I've been there twice so far. It astonishes me every time.
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