Exquisite 19th-Century Sculpture Cloaked in a “Translucent” Marble Veil: Historians believe Italian sculptor Giovanni Strazza, who was from Milan, crafted the piece “The Veiled Virgin” while working in Rome in the 1850s.
Just imagine the ability to render solid stone transparent. Giovanni Strazza possessed this incredibly rare artistic talent. His masterpiece, “The Veiled Virgin,” carved from flawless Carrara marble, stands as one of the most astounding achievements in the history of sculpture.
Strazza’s mastery of the “wet drapery” technique carried on the tradition of other Italian sculptors like Giuseppe Sanmartino, who, a century earlier, had crafted mesmerizing marble veils, exemplified by the renowned “Veiled Christ.”
This artistic tradition can be traced back to earlier sculptors, including renowned Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo, as well as the ancient masters from Greece’s Hellenistic era, who were celebrated for their intricate depictions of fabric folds.
However, in the mid-19th century, Strazza pushed this technique to its limits. The delicate, layered effect he achieved allows the observer to distinctly perceive Mary’s facial features through the translucent veil while simultaneously creating the illusion of weightlessness.
The process of how he transformed solid stone into something so soft and fluid, using only basic hand tools, remains a profound mystery
