Detail View: ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART: Pietà
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Collection:
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ADJUNCT MODULE A: ITALIAN ART
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Preferred Title:
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Pietà
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Alternate Title:
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Pieta
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Image View:
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Detail of Christ's body in Mary's lap
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Creator:
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Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian sculptor, 1475-1564)
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Location:
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repository: Saint Peter's (Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano) (Rome (Vatican City), Santa Sede (Holy See), Italy)
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Location Note:
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Piazza di San Pietro
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GPS:
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+41.902222+12.453333
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Date:
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1497-1500 (creation)
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Cultural Context:
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Italian
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Style Period:
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Renaissance
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Work Type 1:
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sculpture (visual work)
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Classification:
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sculpture
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Material:
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marble
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Technique:
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carving (processes)
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Measurements:
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1.74 m (height) x 1.95 m (width)
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Description:
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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.oxfordartonline.com/)
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Collection:
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Adjunct Module A: Italian Art
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Identifier:
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1A1-MB-P-A06
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Rights:
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© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.
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