Antonio Corradini

A master of carving texture:

Antonio Corradini was an Italian Rococo sculptor, born in Venice. He was famous for his illusory textured veiled marbled carvings on women. His carvings are so detailed and intricate realistic that the veils can be portrayed as if they are translucent.

“Veiled Truth”, completed in 1750

I remembering seeing an image of this sculptor somewhere on the internet. And I was astonished at how beautiful and realistic it looked. What captivates me is how subtle protruded carved lines can make the texture look so realistic. What I find very alluring about “veiled truth” is the mystique of the woman’s expression. She can be portrayed as solemn, sensual, or feeling worn out. Sometimes I like to think I am living vicariously through renaissance paintings and sculptors, with their expressions. I feel like it helps me correspond to art.

What I admire about Antonio Corradini’s art is not only his impressive craftsmanship of signature veils but that most of the subjects were females. I find it more evocative, It makes me wonder if he felt a deep sense of connection to women, because he seldom sculpted men. What I find most captivating about his sculptures is the mystique and unknown. Especially in this piece, the women with closed eyes can be depicted as both peaceful yet sorrowful. It looks as though she can be in a deep slumber, or as someone who is passed away.

It looks like a real delicate and tender fabric or linen. But it is so deceiving because this is stone-hard marble.

I adore this piece because of the fine rendering of lines on the veil which looks more delicate and complex compared to the previous carvings. What I also find very fascinating is how these statues are seemingly expressionless however they simultaneously convey a lot of emotion. It demonstrates how subtle and powerful these statues can be.

In this statue, the female is looking to her left in an averted gaze. To me, it looks like she is in disbelief or disapproval. She seems to carry more expression and looks more lively in comparison to the previous image. I believe it is because of the twist of her neck and her head tilted onwards to the right.

Antonio Corradini is one of those artists I have just recently discovered, and I have instantly fallen in love with it.

There seems to be a change of moods from the statues when there are multiple rather than one. There is a sense of intimidation and there is something slightly menacing with their expressions. Maybe because of the proximity and identical faces there is a compelling powerful sense of unity. Which has an interesting eeriness to it. However, his work is incredible and it would be a huge privilege to see one of these masterpieces in real life one day.