Angel 1750 - 1799

This fifteen-inch-high Angel was made by Giuseppe Sanmartino in eighteenth-century Naples. It is made of painted terracotta, with tow hair, and a dress of hemp cloth. This sculpture is reminiscent of the elaborate, lifelike Nativity scenes that were popular among the wealthy elite of Naples in the 1700s. Though Nativity scenes had long been a feature of the Catholic Church, they began to appear in private homes in the seventeenth century, as part of a renewed emphasis on personal piety. By the eighteenth century, they had become an elaborate status symbol, with aristocrats competing to commission the most detailed and theatrical scenes, often set in meticulously recreated miniature landscapes. The appeal of these elaborate Nativity scenes lay in their blending of the sacred and the secular. Aristocratic patrons of the arts could express piety while showcasing their wealth and their refined artistic tastes. The angel is now preserved in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. To learn more about this work, consult the curatorial records of the Met. The art historian can help us understand this convergence of spiritual and social concerns in eighteenth-century Naples.