As an artistic person, I feel like I can usually look at a piece and at least have some inkling of the work or method that went into it. Like, I can usually pick out what mediums were used or how the artist might have achieved a particular effect.
It’s totally inspiring to see works like that.
Not only does it make me want to head to my art room and get creating, but it also gives me a bit of an ego boost. A feeling that I’m actually learning through art and getting better at identifying things like pigments and techniques.
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And then there are those works that just defy explanation.
I mean, most of us know the theory behind stone carving. You start with a rock and chip away at it until it becomes something beautiful.
But it’s still rock, right? It’s solid and heavy and can’t be turned into something light and airy.
Right?
An incredible statue has been making the viral rounds because of how hard it is to believe it’s stone.
Release from Deception by Francesco Queirolo can be found in Cappella Sansevero, a chapel in the heart of Naples, Italy.
The piece was commissioned by Raimondo di Sangro, who wanted to honor his father.
His father was a troubled man who had even committed murder twice, but repented later in life and chose to live in a convent.
The statue depicts a man struggling to untangle himself from a net, with an angel appearing to aid him.
The idea was considered so difficult that the only sculptor willing to attempt it was Queirolo, and it took him seven years to complete it.
No wonder people thought it was impossible!
Imagine the care required to carve those ropes from solid marble. One mistake could break the entire net. Marble is a comparatively soft stone, but it’s still hard as a, well, rock.
And not only did the net need to be intricately carved, it also needed to feel like a net and not rock. It folds and drapes with incredible realism.
Of course, we can’t forget the beauty of the carved figures, either. The musculature of the raised arm is amazing.
When looking at a work like this one, it’s easy to understand what a true masterpiece is.
It’s humbling for a new artist like myself and yet so very, very inspiring. While I’m never going to be a stone carver, the amazing use of form and sheer skill apparent is enough to make me want to pick up a paintbrush.
