Veiled Rebecca

The Veiled Rebecca statue at the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, India.

The Veiled Rebecca, or The Veiled Rebekah, is a sculpture created by an Italian neoclassical sculptor, Giovanni Maria Benzoni, depicting Rebecca. Benzoni is believed to have made four copies of this statue. The one at the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, India, has been described as a melody in marble.[1]

Style and detail

In the Hebrew Bible, Rebecca is the bride of Isaac who is covered in a transparent veil during their wedding. This life-sized sculpture of Rebecca represents innocence and purity as Giovanni Benzoni skilfully creates the appearance of a transparent veil, an outstanding artistic creation. It stands at a height of 167.0 cm with the statue and its round pedestal carved from a single block of marble without any joints. The pedestal has an inscription near right foot which, gives the name of the sculptor, city and year.[1]

It is believed that Benzoni made four copies of this statue. One is among the collection at the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad (India). There is also a copy at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Another copy, completed in 1866, is in the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts (USA). An interesting difference between the Veiled Rebecca statue at the Salar Jung Museum and the other statues is that the statue at Salar Jung Museum lifts her veil with her right hand while the other copies do so with the left hand.[2]

Gallery

References

External links

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