''Pietà'' is an oil painting of 1876 by the French artist

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

, depicting the

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

. It is in the collection of the

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

Description

The Pietà is a theme in art depicting the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

cradling the dead body of her son,

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, after his crucifixion. In Bouguereau's version, Mary is seen wearing a black cloak holding Christ close to her bosom. Nine angels in mourning form an arc around them, each of them dressed in different colors. One interpretation of this is that the angels are dressed in the colors of the rainbow, in an allusion to Noah's Ark from the Old Testament. According to the story, a rainbow appeared as a symbol from God that the flood had ended and a new world could be rebuilt. Similarly, in the painting, the rainbow could represent the end of the suffering of Jesus, and a new world for man and God to be reunited. At the bottom of the painting, a

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or ) was placed on the head of Jesus during the Passion of Jesus, events leading up to his crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion. It was one of the Arma Christi, instruments of the Passion, e ...

and a white cloth stained with the

blood of Christ Blood of Christ, also known as the Most Precious Blood, in Christian theology refers to the physical blood actually shed by Jesus Christ primarily on the Cross, and the salvation which Christianity teaches was accomplished thereby, or the sacram ...

is depicted. To the right is an urn with the inscription IN MEMORIAM DILECTI MEI FILII GEORGII DIE XIX JULII ANNO MDCCCLXXV. This translates to "In memory of my beloved son, Georges, on 19 July 1865".

Background

One of the main inspirations behind this painting was the death of Bouguereau's eldest son, Georges, aged sixteen. This is reflected by the theme of the painting, as while Mary cradles her dead son in her lap, so too does Bouguereau commemorate his dead son in the painting.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieta (Bouguereau) 1876 paintings Mythological paintings by William-Adolphe Bouguereau Paintings of the Pietà Paintings in the Dallas Museum of Art Religious paintings Angels in art Oil on canvas paintings