Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti
Simoni (1475-1564) completed work on his
Pieta--one of the world's most famous
sculptures--when he was just 24 years old. It is considered one of the greatest examples
of Renaissance sculpture, balancing its ideals of classical beauty with elements of
naturalism. The Pieta depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the body of her Son, Jesus
Christ, in her lap shortly after the Crucifixion. The sculpture, which rests in St.
Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, stands 68.5 inches by 76.8 inches and was completed in
less than two years. It is pyramidal in design, with Mary's head serving as the apex. It
widens to the base, the rock of Golgotha, on which she sits. It is proportionally
incorrect, with Mary appearing much larger than Jesus, in part due to the long, flowing
drapery of her dress. It was unique to the period in part because Mary is pictured as a
young and beautiful woman, rather than the 50ish woman that she would have been at the
time of Jesus' death. A reason given for her youth is that it establishes a portrait of
her "incorruptible purity." Michelangelo stated
that
Do you not know that chaste women stay fresh
much more than those who are not chaste? How much more in the case of the Virgin, who
had never experienced the least lascivious desire that might change her
body?
It is also believed to be the first
Italian sculpture depicting Jesus in the lap of Mary.
The
Pieta was commissioned to serve as the funeral monument of the French cardinal Jean de
Billheres, and it was originally housed in the Chapel of Santa Petronilla, near St.
Peter's. It is the only sculpture signed by Michelangelo: Michelangelo overheard a
visitor claiming that the sculpture was created by another sculptor, so Michelangelo
added his name to the piece on the sash that runs across Mary's
chest.
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