Monteverde Angel
The Monteverde Angel or Angel of the Resurrection (Italian Angelo di Monteverde and Angelo della Resurrezione) is the name given to a marble statue of 1882 that guards the tomb of the Oneto family in the cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa, Northern Italy. It is one of the most famous works by the neo-classical Italian sculptor Giulio Monteverde (1837-1917) and was commissioned by Francesco Oneto, a president of the Banca Generale, in honour of deceased members of his family. Portraying a pensive angel with long, richly detailed wings, it is acknowledged as one of the most beautiful and sensual sculptures in its genre, to which Monteverde contributed other important neo-classical works.
A picture of the work graces the cover of the publication, Camposanto Di Genova. The booklet calls the work, "a true masterpiece" and states, "The Angel, who guards the urn, is admired for the perfect moulding of the arms, neck and head, the deep and soft expression of grief which appears on her features; she holds a trumpet in her right hand, as if ready to sound it on the last judgement day."[1]
Bibliography and references
- ^ Camposanto Di Genova, Fratelli Lichino Piazzale Clmitero Staglieno, Genova
- F.Resasco, La Necropoli di Staglieno, Genova 1892
- T.Crombie, The Sculptors of Staglieno, Genoese nineteenth-century funerary monuments, in Apollo 1973 n. 135
- R.Bossaglia-M.F.Giubilei, Cadaveri eccellenti, in Arte 1982, n. 124
- F.Sborgi (a cura di), L'Ottocento e il Novecento. Dal Neoclassicismo al Liberty, in La scultura a Genova e in Liguria. Dal Seicento al primo Novecento, Genova 1988
- G.Berengo Gardin-G.Nessi Parlato, Il giardino del tempo, Pomezia 1993
- F.Sborgi, Staglieno e la scultura funeraria ligure tra Ottocento e Novecento, Torino 1997
- S.Diéguez Patao-C.Gimènez (a cura di), Arte y architectura funeraria, Dublin, Genova, Madrid (XIX-XX), Torino, Electa España 2000
- G.Berengo Gardin-G.Nessi Parlato, Staglieno, Giganti di marmo. Marble Giants, Tormena 2002
External links
- Cimiterodistaglieno.it
- Approfondimento e immagini
- Monteverde's Mathemorphosis -- mathematical art based on the Monteverde angel
