The veiled Christ” created in 1753 by Giuseppe Sanmartino from a single block of marble.

 “The veiled Christ” created in 1753 by Giuseppe Sanmartino from a single block of marble. 

He made the marble so transparent that it birthed the popular rumor that he placed a real veil over the sculpture and turned it to stone through alchemy.

The Veiled Christ is a 1753 marble sculpture by Giuseppe Sanmartino located in Naples. It is renowned in large part because it seems almost impossible. How can a sculptor make marble seem transparent? Yet this is exactly what Sanmartino achieved – Christ laid down, covered in a shroud that seems so real but so thin that we can still see his still features.

The sculpture is found in the Sansevero Chapel (Museo Cappella Sansevero in Italian). Sometimes known by the church’s name Santa Maria della Pietà or Pietatella, the chapel was built at the end of the 16th century. However, it didn’t take on its most interesting details and artistry until the 1700s.

Between 1740 and 1780, Raimondo di Sangro, prince of Sansevero, completely reconstructed the chapel. He commissioned the Veiled Christ sculpture and Sanmartino’s creation quickly became famous. It was so remarkable that some people believed it was created by alchemy. This rumor probably partly stems from the fact that the Prince of Sansevero was himself an alchemist, in addition to being Grand Master of the Freemasons, a patron of the arts, and an inventor.

In reality, a close analysis leaves no doubt that the work was entirely produced in marble. This is also confirmed by some letters written at the time of its production. A receipt of payment to Sanmartino, dated 16 December 1752 and signed by the prince, is preserved in the Historical archive of the Bank of Naples.