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 pity ...

", "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 narrati ...

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 of ...

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 religiou ...

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 ...

. 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, as well as one of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin. Although the Pietà most often shows the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, there are other compositions, including those where God the Father 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 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, 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 Nicodemu ...

(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 ...

), Mary Magdalene, 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 Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

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.

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 state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

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 ...

, Museo del Prado,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, 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 File:Pietro Perugino cat19.jpg,

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

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, Swabian painted wood ''Pietà'' of c. 1500 File:Accademia - Pietà Martinengo by Giovanni Bellini Cat.883.jpg, Giovanni Bellini, 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, Old Collection File:Deposition of Christ C2RMF.jpg, ''

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

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

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

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