I've often heard the complaint, "I'm no good at art" over the many years in the classrooms I've been charged with. While I haven't often practiced in the visual arts like drawing, painting, or sculpting, I've spent a sizeable amount of time behind the camera learning how to manipulate light in all manner of crazy things, so feel strongly that I can recognize artistic genius. I remember reading at one time that when queried about his masterpiece David, Michelangelo shooed away praise (paraphrasing), the piece was captured inside the block of marble and all I had to do was chip away the outside to reveal it.
Seriously??
According to some research,
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" (pictured right). 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 incredible mind of Giovanni Strazza, the artist responsible for the Veiled Virgin pictured above, possessed this incredibly rare artistic talent. His masterpiece was carved from a flawless piece of Carrara marble, and stands as one of the most astounding achievements in the history of sculpture.
According to some research,
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 brilliance of how Strazza transformed solid stone into something so seemingly transparent, using only basic hand tools, remains a profound mystery according to the Fine Arts community ... and to ME! Acknowledging my bias, Strazza's Veiled Virgin bests Sanmartino's Veiled Christ by the narrowest of margins, the transparency of the veil slightly more refined and realistic. Either way, that an artist could transform solid rock into something that appears to flow like silk is flabbergasting, to say the least.
This Arts moment brought to you today by the blown mind of an appreciative old fart who finds himself with more time to stop and appreciate the beauty of the world.
Peace out.
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