Pietá: Christian Art Analysis

Pietá is an Italian term for “pity” or “mercy;” Pietá is a theme in Christian art that depicts Madonna holding Jesus in her lap and looking at him with lamentation after he has been crucified. This theme of art work became popular with paintings and sculptures in Northern Europe in the fourteenth century and lasted through the nineteenth century (Anthony, Maas). This format was the norm in France and Germany until the sixteenth century, when artists started to place Jesus at Mary’s feet with his head laying against her knees (Lewis, Bonnie). The most popular depiction of Pietá were of just Mary and Jesus, but other figures such as John the Apostle, Mary Magdalene, and others were also shown (Pieta). Pietá was so widespread it became the most heart-rending visual expression of the lives of Mary and Jesus, mother and son. The depiction between mother and son …show more content…
In 1497, the statue was commissioned by a cardinal named Jean de Billheres to go in St. Peter’s Basilica. Unlike earlier Pietás, Michelangelo shows Mary with a calm demeanor. Her face is introspective; she’s viewing the death of her child but is also still mothering him. She has yet to feel the pain of separation. Mary is also depicted as being very young despite the fact that she would have been in her fifties. Michelangelo said that he sculpted her that way because she was a virgin and she was still pure (Brehmer, Debra). Even though Mary’s and Jesus’ head are proportional, Mary’s body is much bigger than Jesus’. It is speculated that this was done so Mary could support her son in her lap without making it look awkward. This is also the only piece that Michelangelo had ever signed. He apparently overheard people talking about his sculpture and they said that a rival artist is the one who sculpted it, so one night he set upon it and carved his name in it (Michelangelo’s