When one stands before "The Disillusionment" (*Il Disinganno*), the mind resists accepting the material truth. Although it seems incredible, even the last knot of the work is part of a single piece of marble, a technical feat that makes the sculptor Francesco Queirolo an unparalleled master. Observing the virtuosity with which the sculptor created the net covering the figure—a net that forms a single piece with the rest of the sculpture—is an experience that, even three centuries later, still amazes. This wonder is housed in the Sansevero Chapel in Naples, a temple filled with mystery and history.
The chapel's story begins long before the 18th century. Tradition holds that in 1590, Giovanni Francesco di Sangro, Duke of Torremaggiore, had an adjacent chapel built next to the Palazzo Sangro, with construction lasting until 1608, as an act of thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary for having cured him of a serious illness, although some historians cast doubt on this event.
In 1609, after the duke's death, his son Paolo di Sangro commissioned Vitale Finelli to create the family coat of arms and the Golden Fleece for the chapel door, and commissioned the sculptor Michelangelo Naccherino for the statue of his son Ferrante, who died at the age of 12, which was placed in the temple, dedicated to Santa Maria della Pietà, in 1613. Naccherino, born in Florence, was a student of Giambologna and settled in Naples in 1573, where he became, along with Pietro Bernini, the most important sculptor in the city.
In 1614, Alessandro, Paolo's brother, commissioned the artist Giacomo Lazzari—from the Carrara school, a follower of Giulio Mencaglia—to create a statue representing his father, and in 1642, his nephew Giovanni Francesco, Paolo's son, commissioned Mencaglia to create his father's tomb. 10 years later, Giovanni Francesco himself would commission an artist, whose identity is unknown, to create the tomb of his uncle Alessandro.
The Revolutionary Vision of Prince Raimondo di Sangro
From the mid-17th century, no new works were carried out in the temple until 1735, when **Raimondo di Sangro**, Prince of Sansevero, a figure as brilliant as he was controversial, known as an inventor, alchemist, and Grand Master Mason, planned an ambitious project of enrichment and expansion with a crypt to house the tombs of his descendants. This involved the removal of some existing sculptures, such as Ferrante’s, although the prince ordered his dedicatory plaque to be preserved. For this, he commissioned the Venetian sculptor Antonio Corradini to execute an iconographic program that his successors had to rigorously adhere to.
Corradini himself executed three marble sculptures: "Decorum" (*Il Decoro*), the least remarkable of the three; "Sadness" (*La Tristezza*), which serves as a holy water font on the right side of the chapel, and "Modesty" (*La Modestia*) (1751), undoubtedly the best of them all, characterized by a highly stylized drapery that highlights the splendid nudity of the work. Corradini's successor was Francesco Queirolo, who, like the other followers, had to sign a clause prohibiting him from working for other clients.
The Disillusionment: A Tribute to Family Redemption
Queirolo, highly praised at the time in Rome and Genoa, is the author, among other pieces, of "Sincerity" (*La Sincerità*) (1754), which we discussed a few days ago, and one of the chapel's masterpieces: "The Disillusionment" (*Il Disinganno*) (1754).
This spectacular marble sculpture was erected by Raimondo di Sangro in memory of his father, **Antonio di Sangro, Duke of Torremaggiore**. The symbolism is profound and very personal:
- The man caught in a net represents Antonio di Sangro, who led a dissolute life, marked by travel and debt, after his wife (Raimondo's mother) died when the prince was only one year old.
- The angel helping him break free symbolizes **Intellect** and **Faith**, the "Disillusionment" or liberation from the bonds of sin and worldly vice. Raimondo commissioned this work to honor the repentance and final redemption of his father, who retired to monastic life in his later years.
- The net of knots enveloping the figure is a virtuoso work to the point of provocation, and it is said that no other Neapolitan sculptor dared to carve it, as the risk of breaking the marble while finishing the details was immense, leaving the task solely to Queirolo, who was originally from Genoa.
Mystery and Virtuosity: The Chapel Legends
The base of the sculpture features a relief showing Jesus restoring sight to a blind man, and an open book with a Latin inscription that speaks of liberation from the chains of darkness. This symbolism, along with other elements in the chapel (such as the labyrinthine original pavement, now only partially preserved), has led many historians to interpret the entire chapel, and "The Disillusionment" in particular, as a **Masonic itinerary** conceived by Raimondo di Sangro himself to symbolize the path of the initiate toward Wisdom and Truth.
Another famous legend related to the work's technical challenge claims that Queirolo himself had to polish the sculpture by hand with pumice stone, as the artisans of the time refused to work the intricate net for fear of breaking it.
The sculpture is located in the princely chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà, known as the Sansevero Chapel or Pietatella, situated in Sangro di Sansevero in Naples. A place that continues to captivate visitors from around the world, not only for the beauty and technique of its marbles but for the rich and enigmatic history of the family that created it.
THE WORK
The Disillusionment (Il Disinganno)
Artist: Francesco Queirolo
1754
Sansevero Chapel
Sangro di Sansevero
Naples, Italy
