TATTOOING THE CLASSICS

Meet the artist who carves recreations of famous sculptures in marble, then adorns them with iconic tattoos.

- JONNY WATSON

From the Venus de Milo to Michelangelo’s David to the Winged Victory of Samothrace, all of the most famous classical sculptures have one thing in common—pristine, white marble. Any variation in the coloring of the marble can be distracting, so seeing a marble sculpture covered in Russian prison tattoos is downright jarring. Fabio Viale chisels recreations of famous sculptures in marble before infusing the porous stone with pigment, essentially tattooing the statues. We spoke with Viale about how he got into sculpture, why he chooses to juxtapose tattoos with classical art and more.

Do you remember the first time you fell in love with art? I was 12 when I saw Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà and Leonardo’s “Last Supper” on the same day. I don’t think I understood, but I certainly heard.

Growing up in Italy, you were likely exposed to a ton of classical art. Can you tell us what it was like growing up in that environment? You get used to beautiful things to the point of not seeing them anymore. I realized the difficulty and depth needed to create similar works when I decided to reproduce the great classics. Technical skill is not enough, it is just a mental process.

When did you know you wanted to become an artist? At the age of 14, when I enrolled in art high school and saw Sinéad O’Connor’s video for “Nothing Compares 2 U.”