Michelangelo's Pieta 5450 cropncleaned edit

The Pietà (; meaning "

pity Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to '' compassion'', ''condolence'' or ''empathy'' – the word deriving from the Latin ''pietas'' (etymon also of '' piety''). Self-pity is pi ...

", "compassion") is a subject in

Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrative ...

depicting the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

cradling the dead body of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. The Pietà is a specific form of the

Lamentation of Christ The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over his body. This event has been depicted by m ...

in which Jesus is mourned by the Virgin Mary alone.

Context and development

Pietà is one of the three common artistic representations of a sorrowful Virgin Mary, the other two being

Mater Dolorosa Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

(Mother of Sorrows) and Stabat Mater (the mother was standing). The other two representations are most commonly found in paintings, rather than sculpture, although combined forms exist. The Pietà developed in Germany (where it is called the "Vesperbild") about 1300, reached Italy about 1400, and was especially popular in Central European

Andachtsbilder ''Andachtsbilder'' (singular ''Andachtsbild'', German for devotional image) is a German term often used in English in art history for Christian devotional images designed as aids for prayer or contemplation. The images "generally show holy fi ...

. Many German and Polish 15th-century examples in wood greatly emphasise Christ's wounds. The

Deposition of Christ The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...

and the Lamentation or Pietà form the 13th of the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

, as well as one of the

Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

. Although the Pietà most often shows the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, there are other compositions, including those where

God the Father God the Father is a title given to God in Christianity. In mainstream trinitarian Christianity, God the Father is regarded as the first person of the Trinity, followed by the second person, God the Son Jesus Christ, and the third person, God t ...

participates in holding Jesus (see gallery below). In Spain the Virgin often holds up one or both hands, sometimes with Christ's body slumped to the floor.

Michelangelo

A famous example by

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

was carved from a block of marble and is located in St. Peter's Basilica in the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. The body of Christ is different from most earlier Pietà statues, which were usually smaller and in wood. The Virgin is also unusually youthful, and in repose, rather than the older, sorrowing Mary of most Pietàs. She is shown as youthful for two reasons; God is the source of all beauty and she is one of the closest to God, also the exterior is thought as the revelation of the interior (the virgin is morally beautiful). Michelangelo's Pieta sculpture is also unique in the fact that it is the only one of his works that he ever signed. Upon hearing that visitors thought it had been sculpted by

Cristoforo Solari Church of San Zaccaria Venice - bas-relief on the facade Cristoforo Solari (c. 1460–1527), also known as il Gobbo (''the hunchbacked''), was an Italian sculptor and architect. He was the brother of the painter Andrea Solari. Among his work, ...

, a competitor. His signature is carved as ''MICHAELA ELUS BONAROTUS FLORENTIN SFACIEBA ' "Michelangelo Buonarroti the Florentine did it". In a lesser known Michelangelo Pietà, '' The Deposition'' (c. 1547–1555), it is not the Virgin Mary who is holding Jesus' body, but rather

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John: * He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings (). * The second time Nicodem ...

(or possibly

Joseph of Arimathea Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several t ...

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

, and the Virgin Mary. There is some indication that the man in the hood is based on a self-portrait of the artist. The sculpture is housed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and is also known as the ''Florentine Pietà''. A generation later, the Spanish painter

Luis de Morales Luis de Morales (1509 – 9 May 1586) was a Spanish painter active during the Spanish Renaissance in the 16th century. Known as "El Divino", most of his work was of religious subjects, including many representations of the Madonna and Child and ...

painted a number of highly emotional Pietàs, with examples in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

and

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

Gallery

Statues, statuettes and paintings

File:Lamentation icon Nerezi MK.jpg, ''Pietà'' in frescoes found in the Church of St. Panteleimon,

Gorno Nerezi Gorno Nerezi (, sq, Nerez i Epërm) is a village in the municipality of Karpoš, North Macedonia. The settlement is situated at an altitude of 771 meters (2532 feet). It is located on the wooded slopes of Mt. Vodno, covers a 7 km radius ...

, 1164 File:Meister der Pietà von Avignon 004.jpg, The '' Avignon Pietà'', Enguerrand Charonton, 15th century File:Köln st severin pieta.jpg, 15th-century German wood ''Pietà'' from

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

File:Jean Malouel - Large Round Pietà - WGA13901.jpg, Pieta Tondo by Jean Malouel, between 1400 and 1410 (

) File:Jean malouel (attr.), grande pietà rotonda, 1400 ca. 03.JPG, Jean Malouel, Pieta Tondo, detail File:Museo diocesano di klagenfurt, pietà, 1420 circa, da st. michael am zollfeld.JPG, Austrian ''Pietà'', c. 1420 File:Van-der-Weyden-Pieta.jpg,

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, with Saint John and a donor, c. 1440-1450 File:Kraków Pietà of Tubądzin.jpg,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, c. 1450 File:German or Netherlandish 15th Century, Pietà, c. 1450-1500, NGA 3155.jpg, German or Netherlandish 15th Century, ''Pietà'', c. 1450–1500,

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national 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 char ...

File:Pietro Perugino cat19.jpg,

Pietro Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance Painting, painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pup ...

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums ...

, 1490 File:Vesperbild Schwaben um 1500.jpg,

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of ...

n painted wood ''Pietà'' of c. 1500 File:Accademia - Pietà Martinengo by Giovanni Bellini Cat.883.jpg,

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

, c. 1505 File:DiefflerPietàL1010653 (2).JPG, Dieffler Pietà, Wooden sculpture, presumably 15th or 18th century, former chapel of St Wendelin in

Diefflen Diefflen (pronounced: Dieflen, in the local, Moselle-Franconian dialect Dejfeln) is a district of Dillingen/Saar in the district of Saarlouis (Saarland) and has about 4700 inhabitants. It is located on the lower Prims, a tributary of the Saar. ...

Saarland Museum The Saarland Museum is an art museum in Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany. It is spread across three sites, each with a different specialism. Museum in the Palace Church The Museum in the Palace Church (''Museum in der Schlosskirche'') special ...

, Old Collection File:Deposition of Christ C2RMF.jpg, ''

'',

Bronzino Agnolo di Cosimo (; 17 November 150323 November 1572), usually known as Bronzino ( it, Il Bronzino ) or Agnolo Bronzino, was an Italian Mannerist painter from Florence. His sobriquet, ''Bronzino'', may refer to his relatively dark skin or reddis ...

, 1540–1545, Musée de Besançon File:El Greco Pietà.jpg,

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

, ''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...

'', 1571–1576,

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

File:Annibale Carracci 1560-1609 Pieta.jpg, ''Pietà'', c. 1600,

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...

National Museum of Capodimonte Museo di Capodimonte is an art museum located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand House of Bourbon, Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works ...

File:Gregorio Fernandez-Piedad.jpg, ''

'' by

Gregorio Fernández Gregorio Fernández (April 1576 – 22 January 1636) was a Spanish Baroque sculptor. He belongs to the Castilian school of sculpture, following the style of other great artists like Alonso Berruguete, Juan de Juni, Pompeyo Leoni, and Juan de Ar ...

, 1616–1619,

National Sculpture Museum The "National Museum of Sculpture" is a museum in Valladolid, Spain, belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Culture. The museum has an extensive sculptural collection ranging from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. The collections come mostly fr ...

, File:Andechs Kloster interior 027.JPG, 18th-century Bavarian example with

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

setting File:A Pietà by Michelangelo, in the Galleria dell'Accademia.jpg, The Palestrina Pietà originally attributed to Michelangelo but probably by another sculptor File:William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - Pieta (1876).jpg, ''Pieta'', 1876,

William-Adolphe Bouguereau William-Adolphe Bouguereau (; 30 November 1825 – 19 August 1905) was a French academic painter. In his realistic genre paintings, he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female ...

File:Pieta, St. Gereon Basilica.jpg, A Pietà in marble by

Anton Josef Reiss Anton Josef Reiss, also Reiß (30 October 1835Anton Josef Reiss
In H ...

, 1897 File:(Albi) Collégiale Saint-Salvi - Pietà dite Mater Dolorosa - Chapelle de la déploration du Christ PalissyIM81001576.jpg, Vierge de Pitié, Déploration at Collégiale Saint-Salvi d'Albi,

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

, around 1900 File:Pieta. Bogdan Cierpisz.jpg, Bogdan Cierpisz, Pieta, c. 1980 File:Port Kollam Church's renowned pieta.jpg, Every year on Good Friday, Port Kollam Church's renowned Pieta is on exhibit. File:Liberty - panoramio (1) (cropped).jpg,

West Bank Wall graffiti art West Bank Wall graffiti art is street art on the walled sections of the Israeli West Bank barrier, by a wide range of international and Palestinian artists. The wall is tall, and is easily accessible to artists as it frequently divides urban are ...

: An interpretation of Pietà showing

Handala Handala ( ar, حنظلة, Ḥanẓala), also Handhala, Hanzala or Hanthala, is a prominent national symbol and personification of the Palestinian people. The character was created in 1969 by political cartoonist Naji al-Ali, and first took i ...

and

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

References

External links

Data collection of the image type Pietà in sculpture

3D model of a detail of Mary from a cast made by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Vatican Museums, via photogrammetric survey

Poem by Moez Surani proposing nine new sculptural Pietas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieta Christian terminology Italian words and phrases