Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
Preferred Title:
Pietà
Alternate Title:
Pieta
Image View:
Detail of central portion of sculpture
Creator:
Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian sculptor, 1475-1564)
Location:
repository: Saint Peter's (Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano) (Rome (Vatican City), Santa Sede (Holy See), Italy)
Location Note:
Piazza di San Pietro
GPS:
41.902222 12.453333
Date:
1497-1500 (creation)
Cultural Context:
Italian
Style Period:
Renaissance
Work Type 1:
sculpture (visual work)
Classification:
sculpture
Material:
marble
Technique:
carving (processes)
Measurements:
1.74 m (height) x 1.95 m (width)
Description:
The Pietà is the work that marked the turning-point in Michelangelo’s fortunes. Commissioned in 1497 by the French Cardinal Jean Villiers de La Grolais (ca. 1430-1499) for his own tomb, it was finished by 1500. It signals the beginning of Michelangelo’s maturity as a sculptor. It shows great textural richness, a characteristic noted by Vasari in his description of the inert body of Christ. This sensitively carved surface is strongly contrasted with the unpolished textures of rock and tree stump. Although the dazzling virtuosity of the carving is less appreciated now than it was in the 16th century, there is general agreement that the Pietà is a work of unprecedented elegance. Much of the pathos of the group derives from the drapery of the shroud, which both cradles and displays Christ’s corpse. The Virgin shows no grief; her features are composed and the gesture of her left hand is designed to draw attention to her dead son. (Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordart online.com/)
Collection:
Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
Identifier:
1A1-MB-P-A03
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Pietà