It inspires awe in me to stand before a stone, carved with text, from the end of the 4th century B.C. To envision the people that crafted this work, who they were, what their lives were like.
And to see sculpture so masterful, from the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. Rigid marble carved to appear like supple, draped fabric. Bodily proportions so observant and accurate, yet on a grand scale.
Or imagine taking chips of multi-colored stone and glass, some hardly a millimeter square, and rendering a painterly portrait.
These works must make you marvel! I invite you to seek out such inspiring pieces when you travel.
(Click on any photo to enlarge it, and then you can progress through the series of photos.)
Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
We visited the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN) – National Archeological Museum of Naples – and spent hours admiring the collection gathered there. What a grand museum, on the order of the Met in New York, and the Louvre in Paris.
There were so many pieces that caught my eye, but I’m only showing some of the most unusual here.
Il Cristo Velato – The Veiled Christ, at San Severo
There are masterful sculptures in the world… and one must surely be the “Il Cristo Velato“, (the Veiled Christ) by Giuseppe Sanmartino, 1753, in repose at the San Severo Chapel Museum. There’s the impression of a thin, sheer fabric draped over the body of Christ, the form of his face and his wounds “seen through” the seeming transparent fabric. I had to keep reminding my eyes that this is marble, this is hard stone, NOT gossamer fabric over a man’s body! Truly incredible.
Disinganno – Disillusionment
Perhaps equally impressive, is the sculpture “Disinganno” (Disillusionment) by Francesco Queirolo, 1753-54. Sure, many of the details are remarkable, but the burly fishing net is carved from marble, and the figure’s body – his hand, arm and leg – are entangled in and beneath the net. To carve that, Queirolo had to envision the final sculpture and remove everything that was neither arm nor net… and not break any of the delicate marble connections! Stunning, truly.
(Tickets for entry to the San Severo Chapel Museum must be purchased in advance. No photos are allowed, so I pulled images from their web site.)
