This sculpture below, “The veiled virgin” is most impressive! Marvel at the effect of transparency by the 19th century Italian artist Giovanni Strazza.
Imagine the epic difficulty of modeling a veil on a face on a material that is among the toughest on the planet – marble, mineral hardness 3 on Friedrich Mohs scale. Another problem is that nothing is added – it’s a sculpture made by subtracting. To sculpt a figure, you take a block of marble and “simply take everything off that’s not in the figure.”
Other large sculptures that have beautiful marble veils…
This is a monument to the father of Prince Raimondo Sangro Antonio (1685-1757)
The Italian name of the monument Disinganno is often translated as “disappointment.”
“Freedom of the spell” (after 1757) of Franschesko Kvirolo is the most famous of his works. Just look at this netting! All made of a single piece of marble. Kvirolo was the only Neapolitan master who accepted the challenge.
Other great sculptors would not, believing that the network would break into pieces.
Amazing master sculptors for centuries, the art of precise cutting of the stone.
How about that texture of the skin in the sculpture by Lorenzo Bernini, which
depicts the abduction of Persephone! Look at the finger pressures on the skin.
Look at the finger pressures on the skin. Beyond anything imaginable! How did they do this? Especially 3-4 centuries ago. No computer enhancement, no graphics, crafting of electric tools.
Barbara Pyett 