On my recent visit to Hyderabad, India, I stopped by the Salar Jung Museum, and one of the most striking pieces to me was the Veiled Rebecca statue made by Italian sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni.
It shows Isaac’s wife, Rebecca, wearing a transparent veil on her wedding day. The statue is supposed to represent innocence and purity. I’m not sure how it comes across in photographs, but in real life and up close, I couldn’t stop staring at it. The detailing of the veil over her face and meticulous craftsmanship of her whole shape is just incredible.
Benzoni is said to have made four copies of this statue, but the one that stands in India is apparently the only one where she is lifting the veil with her right hand — she uses her left hand in all the others. Since they didn’t allow photography inside Salar Jung, the pictures above, taken by Michael Casey, are of the one that stands at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.
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Shy
oh my God. this is one of my favorite sculptures ever. i saw it at salar jung when i was 15 and haven’t ever forgotten it. i didn’t know it was possible to sculpt something so delicate that you can almost feel her thin veil against her skin.
Really!! That’s so crazy you remember it…it’s such a beautiful piece
i agree ,i saw it monts back and was surprised in fact……..such a materpiece….Hope u know that four copies were originally prepared by Benzoi…and the difference between the salarjang and other copies is that in Salar jang she is holding her veil by his righ hand while in other she is doing same with left han…
I just saw this piece in the Detroit Institute of Arts. There it is called “The Veiled Lady”. It is the exact sculpture, and in the one there, she is lifting the veil with her hand. Also, the one at the DIA is made out of marble. It is one of the most beautiful sculpture I ever saw.