Having passed the Chapel of San Severo many times and seen the long queues of people waiting to glimpse San Martino’s statue of The Veiled Christ, we set off early this morning, bought our tickets as soon as the office opened, and walked straight in.
No photo’s were allowed which is just as well as it can be very annoying having your view blocked by incessant snappers (I am guilty of this too).
The marble statue is of Christ, after his death on the cross, laid on a bed, covered only by a shroud. San Martino, the sculptor, manages to convey the thinness and transparency of the shroud despite carving out of such a hard material. The muscles and tendons in Christ’s arms and legs are seen through the wrapping, as well as a vein in his forehead, still swollen with pulsating blood.
The body, though emaciated, is clearly that of a young man, a man cut off in his prime, and made me think of so many other young men who also meet their demise while young, through conflict or mis-adventure.
We followed this moving experience by searching out the Caravaggio paintings in Naples.
If you have ever seen any of the ‘Italy Unpacked’ BBC series with Andrew Graham-Dixon and Giorgio Locatelli, you might have heard Andrew, a Caravaggio expert, rave about the artist.
Caravaggio is known for his wonderful treatment of light in a picture, unmatched I think, by any other artist.
I have only recently come to be interested in Caravaggio, but luckily for us he was a prolific painter, although he died young, and most of his work can be seen in galleries or churches.
Tortoise Travel 