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Monteverde Angel

Monteverde Angel, also called the Angel of the Resurrection, is an angel statue that decorates the Oneto family tomb, one of the best-known monumental graves in Staglieno Cemetery in Genoa. It is one of the most famous works by the Italian sculptor Giulio Monteverde, who created it in 1882 at the height of his artistic maturity. Commissioned by Francesco Oneto, a wealthy merchant and president of the Banca Generale, the monument was intended to preserve the memory of his family. The sculpture is notable for its strong sensual emotionality and for breaking with conventional funerary angel imagery: although it holds the horn of the Last Judgment, its pose and distant gaze give it an unsettling, detached presence.

Monteverde Angel, a winged stone angel with bowed head and crossed arms holding a long staff, standing on a tiered base.
The Monteverde Angel, a solemn winged sculpture on the Oneto tomb at Staglieno Cemetery in Genoa.
July 2015 © · CC0
Monteverde Angel marble sculpture of a winged angel with folded arms and bowed head beside inscribed grave panels.
The Monteverde Angel marble sculpture stands with folded arms and bowed head beside the grave panels.
October 2007 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Monteverde Angel marble sculpture standing before the Oneto tomb with wings spread and head bowed.
The Monteverde Angel on the Oneto tomb, shown in a black-and-white photograph with the marble angel and tomb monument.
© Alfred Noack · Public domain
Monteverde Angel stone sculpture with feathered wings and crossed hands
Monteverde Angel, a stone sculpture of a winged angel in a somber pose.
September 2017 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Close-up of Monteverde Angel showing the sculpture’s youthful face, wavy hair, and star-patterned headband.
Close-up of Monteverde Angel, highlighting the sculpture’s face and detailed hair ornament.
© · CC BY 2.5

Identification

TitleMonteverde Angel
SubjectAn angel
Alternative titlesAngel of Monteverde; Angel of the Resurrection; L'Angelo di Monteverde; L'Anjo Monteverde; Anjo da Ressurreição; L'Ange de Monteverde
TypeSculpture

Historical context

StyleNeoclassical
Date created1882

Creator

ArtistGiulio Monteverde
Artist nationalityItalian
Artist lifespan1837–1917

Discovery and provenance

Commission purposeTo honor the memory of deceased members of his family
Created withthe adjoining funerary monument of the Oneto family
Part ofThe monumental tomb of the Oneto family
Commissioned byFrancesco Oneto, a wealthy merchant and president of Banca Generale

Location and ownership

Replica locationMonteverde's private funerary chapel, Verano Cemetery, Rome
Original locationOneto family monumental tomb, Staglieno Cemetery, Genoa, Italy; Nicchione XIII of the upper western portico
Additional copy locationCloister of the church of Sant'Agostino, Prato

Materials

MaterialMarble

Physical characteristics

DepictionA pensive angel with long, richly detailed wings and strong androgynous features

Appearance

Pose and expressionThe angel has a non-consoling posture and inscrutable gaze, appearing distant and detached from the event it silently witnesses

Iconography and meaning

Interpretation of attributeShown as if ready to sound the trumpet at the Last Judgment
Thematic dualismEros-Thanatos dualism
Iconographic interpretationA mysterious, ambiguous, inscrutable witness who departs from the classic Christian iconography of a guiding angel
Attribute heldA trumpet of the Last Judgment in the right hand

History and restoration

Replica made by artistA principal replica was made by Monteverde himself in 1891
Replica chapel constructionConstruction of the chapel began in 1885 as a temple open on three sides
Replica vandalismIn 2015, the Rome replica was vandalized; the fingers of the right hand and the trumpet shaft were broken
Additional copy statusAn anonymous copy now isolated from its original burial context and displayed as an autonomous work of art

Significance

ReceptionOne of Giulio Monteverde's best-known and most famous works
Critical assessmentConsidered one of the most beautiful and sensual sculptures in its genre and a high point of genre sculpture
Stylistic significanceBreaks with the sculptural conventions then in vogue
InfluenceInspired numerous sculptors and developed into a real style
Historical significanceSeen as a symbol of the transition from a positivist view of death to Symbolist and Decadent currents
Publication receptionFeatured on the cover of several editions of Camposanto Di Genova and described there as a true masterpiece
Publication commentaryPraised for the perfect modeling of the arms, neck, and head, and for the deep, soft, or gentle expression of grief or sorrow in the features
DistributionMany copies and imitations exist, including by Monteverde himself; they spread from the early 20th century in cemeteries and necropolises in Europe, America, and elsewhere

Other

Related works by artistMonumento Pratolongo (1868) at Staglieno; Tomba Celle (1893); other important neoclassical works