Salvatore Grita and The Vow Against Nature
Salvatore Grita was born in Caltagirone on 15th March 1828.
As the son of a very young mother, Salvatore Grita grew up in an orphanage run by nuns.
Later in 1854, his natural father, a carpenter called Giovanni and his wife Marianna, took him in.
By this time, Salvatore was already 26 years old.
Salvatore Grita’s first contact with sculpture, took place in the workshop of the Catania marble worker Pasquale Privitera.
Subsequently he earned a living by giving lessons to other artists, and making busts.
In 1849, thanks to a subsidy from the Municipality, Salvatore Grita moved to Catania, to receive a more qualified artistic education.
One of his best known sculptures, has its roots in Grita’s troubled childhood, is ‘The Vow Against Nature’
Made between 1860 and 1870, the scuplture is thought to be the representation of his contempt of single mothers being forced into a convent.
It has also been speculised that it could be a young pregnant nun, hidden in a corner in a deep state of despair, almost as if she were a prisoner.
There is a dedication engraved in the base of the sculpture:
”To the protectors and supporters of the vote against
nature”
A real cry against those who favoured the practice of convents for pregnant girls.
The environment around the woman is miserable and squalid, to underline the sadness and impotence of the subject.
The Sicilian sculptor who had the courage to denounce one of the many injustices suffered by women, died in Rome in 1912.
The ‘Vow Against Nature’ is currently on display at the Galleria d’Arte Moderna in Florence, inside the majestic Palazzo Pitti.
