I had a chance to see these in person. Absolutely amazing, considering they were chipped and polished from blocks of solid marble. Talk about patience and persistence. No freakin UNDO hotkey.
We were talking about St Peters Basilica today for some reason. Reminded me of this one, tomb of Pope Alexander VII, another Bernini. Skeleton is bronze, the rest is marble. Thing is gigantic, the door is about 11 feet tall.
Do art historians have any idea how he went about sculpting that net? That wasn't carved out of stone was it? Doesn't seem possible. That shit would break. Sorry to keep going on about the net, but DAMN. (How have I not seen this sculpture before? Why isn't it as famous as freakin' David?)
There's some crazy stuff in that Capella Sansevero where the first sculpture with the netting was housed.
These were initially thought to be plastinated cadavers. Turns out they're sculptures constructed from wax, wire and silk.
Yeah I think that net is sculpted... that's insane...
From a solid piece of rock, or maybe fired clay on wires? It looks even crazier up close... if that was sculpted from a single piece of rock, it'd be as mind-boggling than the pyramids or anything the egyptians built.
Do art historians have any idea how he went about sculpting that net? That wasn't carved out of stone was it? Doesn't seem possible. That shit would break. Sorry to keep going on about the net, but DAMN. (How have I not seen this sculpture before? Why isn't it as famous as freakin' David?)
... the sculptor had to burnish the sculpture with pumice personally, as the craftsmen of the period, though specialised in the burnishing phase, refused to touch the delicate net in case it broke into pieces in their hands.
It's stone - I saw a lot of similar sculpting in my time in Asia. One building near Khoo Kongsi had pillars that had three layers of murals carved into them, each layer around four-six inches deeper than the other. Madness!
yea, its from a single block... but there might be some wizardry behind, lets say.
the san severo chapel was a private chapel of the sansevero family in naples (city i live in nowadays). and the guy that used to go there praying, lets put it this way, used to try some chemistry stuff (alchemy, or whatever you wanna call it), including playing with "liquid marble": indeed the floor pattern is all intarsiated in marble with some really complicated patterns, impossible to sculpt (they were liquid at first, then poured into the crevices, then it would solidify and become "marble").
there might have been some kind of thing similar in the net sculpting, i reckon... just me guessing though, never really minded to ask it ^^
So this "liquid marble" that'd have to be a cement, right? I can't imagine back in the 1700s that creating a sufficient amount of molten marble would have really been possible. Wouldn't it lose its crystaline properties being ground up into a powder and kind of wind up defeating the purpose of using it over some cheaper material?
well, the legend says it was really a "liquid of his invention, almost identical to marble".
indeed, eventhough its a legend, the veil on the christ sculpture is also said (even if proved false) to be made with this liquid, "crystalizing a piece of cloth:
Replies
Apollo and Daphne, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, c. 162225
The Rape of Proserpina, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1622
..the way you can almost feel the skin in your own hands where the hands are.
That's just showing off.
The last words poor little Alessandro ever heard:
"Hey there little boy can I get you to wear these wings and hold this net... thanks!"
I assume that's stone, is it something else? ... How... in the... with... stone?
They were big on sacrificing goats back in those days.
Seems we've forgotten some important parts of the workflow.
Quote of the century.
T-shirt time.
We were talking about St Peters Basilica today for some reason. Reminded me of this one, tomb of Pope Alexander VII, another Bernini. Skeleton is bronze, the rest is marble. Thing is gigantic, the door is about 11 feet tall.
Where's my damn goat?
&
Sick thread, yes I love to see stone work! Amazing.:poly142:
These were initially thought to be plastinated cadavers. Turns out they're sculptures constructed from wax, wire and silk.
From a solid piece of rock, or maybe fired clay on wires? It looks even crazier up close... if that was sculpted from a single piece of rock, it'd be as mind-boggling than the pyramids or anything the egyptians built.
A single block of stone, yes. :poly128:
http://www.museosansevero.it/inglese/cappellasansevero/statue/disinganno.html
the san severo chapel was a private chapel of the sansevero family in naples (city i live in nowadays). and the guy that used to go there praying, lets put it this way, used to try some chemistry stuff (alchemy, or whatever you wanna call it), including playing with "liquid marble": indeed the floor pattern is all intarsiated in marble with some really complicated patterns, impossible to sculpt (they were liquid at first, then poured into the crevices, then it would solidify and become "marble").
there might have been some kind of thing similar in the net sculpting, i reckon... just me guessing though, never really minded to ask it ^^
indeed, eventhough its a legend, the veil on the christ sculpture is also said (even if proved false) to be made with this liquid, "crystalizing a piece of cloth:
http://www.museosansevero.it/inglese/cappellasansevero/cristovelato/leggendadelvelo.html
there are also many other legends surrounding the chapel, like the anatomical machines... and so many other stuff ^^
more info here http://trifter.com/europe/italy/naples-masonic-chapel-sansevero-and-breathing-christ/