''The Veiled Nun'' is a marble bust depicting a female figure, sculpted by an unidentified Italian workshop c. 1863. Despite its name, the woman depicted is not a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

. The bust was popular with visitors to the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...

in Washington, D.C., from 1874 until the museum closed in 2014. The bust is held by the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

in Washington.

Description

''The Veiled Nun'' is a tall marble bust depicting a female figure wearing a veil. The fine details give the illusion that the veil is transparent. Although the title, ''The Veiled Nun'', was already in use in 1874 when the work was first displayed in public, she is not a nun, but rather a woman of means or an allegorical figure. Neither the woman's stylish

coiffure A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although ...

that is visible through the veil nor the embroidered border of the veil are consistent with a nun's appearance. Sculptures depicting veiled figures were popular during the 19th century based on an Italian tradition that began in the 18th century. Notable examples include works by

Antonio Corradini Antonio Corradini (19 October 1688 – 12 August 1752) was an Italians, Italian Rococo sculptor from Venice. He is best known for his illusory veiled depictions of the human body, where the contours of the face and body beneath the veil are disc ...

and

Giuseppe Sanmartino Giuseppe Sanmartino or Sammartino (1720 – 1793) was a prominent Italian sculptor in Naples during the late Baroque period who focused on religious sculptures. His most famous work is the '' Veiled Christ'' (1753) in Sansevero Chapel in Naple ...

in the

Cappella Sansevero The Cappella Sansevero (also known as the Cappella Sansevero de' Sangri or Pietatella) is a chapel located on Via Francesco de Sanctis 19, just northwest of the church of San Domenico Maggiore, in the historic center of Naples, Italy. The chapel ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and by the Florentine

Innocenzo Spinazzi Innocenzo Spinazzi (1726–1798) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo period active in Rome and Florence. Biography Born in Rome the son of a silversmith, he became the leading sculptor in Florence, where he died. He was trained by Giovanni Ba ...

. In the 1850s,

Raffaelle Monti Raffaele Monti (often misspelled Rafaelle or Raffaelle; Milan 1818–1881) was an Italian sculptor, author and poet. Born in Milan or Iseo, he studied under his father, the noted sculptor Gaetano Matteo Monti, in the Imperial Academy. At the ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

crafted a ''Veiled Vestal'', which may have influenced William Corcoran to name this bust ''The Veiled Nun''. Two other busts that appear to be derived from the same model are at the

National Museum of Serbia The National Museum of Serbia () is the largest and oldest museum in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the central zone of Belgrade on a square plot between the Republic Square (Belgrade), Republic Square, formerly Theatre Square, and three stree ...

and

Laurier House Laurier House () is a National Historic Site in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (in the Sandy Hill district). It was formerly the residence of two Canadian prime ministers: Sir Wilfrid Laurier (for whom the house is named) and William Lyon Mackenzie Ki ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. Neither is signed.

History and attribution

The bust was purchased for $300 in 1863 by American banker and art collector

William Wilson Corcoran William Wilson Corcoran (December 27, 1798 – February 24, 1888) was an American banker, philanthropist, and art collector. He founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Early life and education Corcoran was born on December 27, ...

during a visit to Rome. It was a part of his private collection until he gave it to his museum, the

. It was displayed in the Octagon Room of what is now the

Renwick Gallery The Renwick Gallery is a branch of the Smithsonian American Art Museum located in Washington, D.C. that displays American craft and decorative arts from the 19th to 21st century. The gallery is housed in a National Historic Landmark building that ...

during the January 1874 opening exhibition of the Corcoran Gallery along with

Hiram Powers Hiram Powers (July 29, 1805 – June 27, 1873) was an American neoclassical sculptor. He was one of the first 19th-century American artists to gain an international reputation, largely based on his famous marble sculpture '' The Greek Slave''. ...

' ''

The Greek Slave ''The Greek Slave'' is a marble sculpture by the American sculptor Hiram Powers. It was one of the best-known and critically acclaimed American artworks of the nineteenth century, and is among the most popular American sculptures ever. It was th ...

''. For the next six decades, ''The Veiled Nun'' was listed as a copy of a bust by an unknown artist. This attribution was changed to the Milanese sculptor Giuseppe Croff (1810-1869) in 1939, when a patron pointed out a similarity with an engraved illustration of a bust by Croff in a catalogue of the 1853 New York World’s Fair. The Croff attribution remained until 2012 when the curator staff looked at a copy of the catalogue and noted significant differences between the works (the actual bust attributed to Croft cannot be located). Further analysis by experts led to a new attribution of an unknown commercial workshop in Rome. The bust was one of the most popular artworks throughout its time at the museum. Following the Corcoran's dissolution in 2014, ''The Veiled Nun'' and 17,000 other works of art were accessioned by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veiled Nun, The 1863 sculptures Busts in Washington, D.C. Sculptures in the National Gallery of Art Sculptures of women in Washington, D.C. Veiled sculptures

Description

History and attribution

See also

References