Prince Raimondo di Sangro disentangling himself from the net of worldly cares with the help of his winged genius, after the marble statue by Francesco Queirolo in the Capella di Sansevero, Naples
ca. 1840–50
Medium
Lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 21 5/16 × 14 15/16 in. (54.1 × 37.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Harriet McDonald, 1941
Accession Number
41.91.225
Art Historical Context
This lithograph from around 1840–50 reproduces one of the most celebrated Baroque sculptures in Naples: Francesco Queirolo’s marble figure of Prince Raimondo di Sangro freeing himself from a net of worldly cares, guided by a winged genius. Located in the Cappella Sansevero, the original statue embodies the prince’s fascination with Enlightenment ideals, science, and spiritual liberation. The dramatic composition—showing the prince struggling upward while an angelic figure assists—captures the tension between earthly burdens and higher aspiration that defined much of Raimondo’s life as a schola...
About the Artist
Francesco Maria Queirolo|Francesco Wenzel (Italian|Italian) · 1704 |1827 –1762 |1850
Italian, Genoa 1704–1762 Naples|Italian, active Naples, 1827–50