Veiled Christ, Marble sculpture in Cappella Sansevero, Naples, Italy

The Veiled Christ is a marble sculpture by Giuseppe Sanmartino, displayed in the Cappella Sansevero in Naples, showing the body of Jesus lying beneath a stone shroud. The shroud and the figure beneath it were carved from the same single block of marble, and the fabric appears thin enough to reveal the face, hands, and wounds of the figure.

Sanmartino finished the sculpture in 1753 on commission from Prince Raimondo di Sangro, who wanted it for his family chapel in Naples. The prince gave the sculptor specific instructions about combining the body and the shroud in a single block of marble.

The shroud's realism gave rise to a legend that Prince Raimondo di Sangro, an alchemist, turned a real cloth into marble. A receipt of 16 December 1752, kept in the Banco di Napoli archive, records payment to Sanmartino for a statue "covered by a veil also of marble".

The sculpture sits at the center of the chapel floor and can be viewed from all sides, so it is worth walking slowly around it. The chapel itself is small, which means it can feel crowded on busy days, and visiting early tends to give a calmer experience.

A receipt dated 16 December 1752, signed by Prince Raimondo di Sangro and kept in the Banco di Napoli historical archive, records payment of fifty ducats to Giuseppe Sanmartino for the dead Christ covered by a veil also of marble. Sanmartino signed the back of the pedestal beneath the mattress: "Joseph Sanmartino, Neap., fecit, 1753".