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Veiled Christ

Veiled Christ, also known as Cristo velato, is a marble tomb effigy completed in 1753 by the Neapolitan artist Giuseppe Sanmartino. Carved from a single block of white marble, it depicts the body of Christ beneath a revealing translucent shroud or veil. The sculpture was commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro, prince of Sansevero, to serve as the centrepiece of the Cappella Sansevero in Naples, Italy. Its exceptional quality was later praised by the 18th-century sculptor Antonio Canova, who said he would willingly give ten years of his life to have produced something of similar quality.

The Veiled Christ marble sculpture showing a reclining figure covered by a finely carved translucent-looking veil.
The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino, shown with its delicately carved veil and reclining figure.
September 2014 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
Veiled Christ marble sculpture with a translucent carved veil over a recumbent figure
The Veiled Christ shown with its finely carved translucent veil over the reclining marble figure.
November 2015 © David Sivyer · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Veiled Christ marble sculpture of a recumbent figure covered by a transparent-looking veil, with visitors in the background.
The Veiled Christ by Giuseppe Sanmartino, shown in a dimly lit interior with visitors viewing it behind a rope barrier.
September 2014 © · CC BY-SA 2.0
A bozzetto of the Veiled Christ showing a recumbent figure draped in finely folded fabric inside a glass display case.
Bozzetto of Antonio Corradini’s Veiled Christ, shown with the recumbent figure and ornate base in display.
May 2014 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Veiled Christ bozzetto showing a recumbent figure draped in delicate fabric on an ornate base
Bozzetto of Antonio Corradini’s Veiled Christ, showing the recumbent figure draped in finely carved fabric.
May 2014 © · CC BY-SA 3.0

Identification

TitleVeiled Christ
TypeMarble tomb effigy
Original titleCristo velato
Original languageItalian

Historical context

Completion date1753

Creator

ArtistGiuseppe Sanmartino
Artist nationalityNeapolitan

Discovery and provenance

Corradini's contributionA terracotta bozzetto, now in the National Museum of San Martino
Payment recordOn 16 December 1752, Sanmartino was paid fifty ducats for the statue of Our Lord dead, covered with a veil equally in marble; the receipt is preserved in the Historical Archives of the Banco di Napoli
Commission contextCommissioned in 1753
First commissioned sculptorAntonio Corradini
Commission purposeCentrepiece of the Cappella Sansevero in Naples
Original intended locationThe family mausoleum below the Cappella Sansevero, in the space now housing the Anatomical Machines
Commissioned byRaimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero
Subsequent sculptorGiuseppe Sanmartino

Physical characteristics

Dimensions50 × 80 × 180 cm
SizeLife-size
PoseThe dead Christ lying down on a mattress or couch

Materials

MaterialMarble
Model materialTerracotta
Copy material at PotenzaWood (Pinus cembra), plastered and treated to look like marble
Veil materialMarble, carved from the same block as the statue

Technique

TechniqueCarved statue

Appearance

Base objectsInstruments of the Passion, including the crown of thorns, pincers, and nails
Depicted subjectChrist in death
Veil descriptionA transparent, very fine shroud that adheres to the body's forms and creates the illusion of wet, transparent marble
Visible detailsThe wounds and marks of Christ's suffering are visible on the face and body beneath the veil

Iconography and meaning

Iconographic themeA reclining effigy of Christ covered by a shroud, referring to the Holy Shroud (Saint-Suaire)
MeaningThe veil emphasizes Christ's suffering in the moments before and during the crucifixion

Location and ownership

Current locationCentre of the nave of the Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy
Corradini's model locationNational Museum of San Martino
Payment archiveHistorical Archives of the Banco di Napoli
Copy locationsChurch and Convent of Santa Maria del Sepolcro, Potenza; Abbey of San Giovanni Evangelista, Parma

History and restoration

Documentary evidenceLetters from the period state that the veil was made from the same block as the statue
Scholarly conclusionThe work was made entirely in marble
Legend about the veilFor centuries, many visitors believed the veil was produced by an alchemical process that transformed a real cloth into marble
Signature"Joseph Sanmartino, Neap., fecit, 1753" on the back of the pedestal, under the mattress

Significance

Artistic statusConsidered one of the masterpieces of world sculpture
ReceptionHighly praised; visitors, including Antonio Canova, were astonished by the veil and its realism
Canova's reactionHe tried in vain to buy the sculpture and said he would willingly give ten years of his life to have produced something of similar quality
Other admirersMatilde Serao, Marchese de Sade, Héctor Bianciotti, Adonis, Riccardo Muti
Career impactHelped launch Sanmartino's career

Other

2010 copyCristo RiVelato, a blind sculptor's itinerant accessible copy made in 2010 by Felice Tagliaferri
Copy at Potenza1914 wooden statue by Helmut Perathoner from Val Gardena, generally exhibited only during Lent
Copy at Parma display period16 October 2020 to December 2021
2021 eventAbel Ferrara read texts by Gabriele Tinti before the sculpture on International Museum Day during the 250th anniversary of Raimondo di Sangro's death
Public legendFor nearly three centuries, many chapel visitors believed the veil was the result of an alchemical petrification attributed to Raimondo di Sangro