Michelangelo's Pieta in a Nutshell 🌰

#pieta #arthistory #italianart

Hi everyone! Today we are going to talk about one of my favorite pieces of artwork, the Pieta. Pieta means pity or compassion. It is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo created somewhere between 1490-1500 so we are in the Italian Renaissance. It is currently in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in Rome. I was blessed enough to be able to see it in person in 2015 and it was more beautiful in person than in the pictures. I actually took the picture in the video from my little red camera at the time, because I didn't have an iphone. Oh the simple life 🤣🤣

Anyway, back to this glorious piece of artwork. The scene is depicted as right after the crucifixion, Mary held Jesus’ lifeless body. What’s interesting is that her upper body seems proportionate, while her lower body seems to be enlarged to hold the weight of her Son. The marble is molded around where she is holding him to depict the movement of his skin against Mary’s hand where she is holding him. And her other hand seems to be ushering the viewer in as if to say, this is the way to redemption.

Even though Christ’s body was exsanguinated and tortured, he is depicted here as having minimal marks on his body. This is because the idea was to portray him as the perfect martyr and give visual representation of his divinity.

This is one of my favorite pieces of artwork because it carries such complex emotion. On one hand, you have Mary, the Mother of the Messiah, holding the dead, but soon to be alive, body of the Christ. It’s such a holy scene that is quiet and serene, but full of agony. And yet, this scene is not the end of the story, but an intermission. It makes me the viewer want to look at Mary and say, He will become alive again.

But on the other hand, there is a deep sadness to this story because if we take away the divine aspects, it is a mother holding her son who is no longer alive. And that is what hurts the most about this sculpture is that it is a sharp reminder that this happens in every day life. Mother’s hold sons, sons hold mothers, fathers hold daughters, friends hold friends. And so it stings, but again it is a reminder that this is only the intermediate part of the story and that because of this scene, we can also boldly say, “he will become alive again.”

So its a visual expression of triumph through despair, and that is why I love it so much. I realize that in our every day life we get motivation from music or motivational speakers. But for me personally there is no better inspiration and encouragement than the story of the Christ and his rising. Anyway, that’s your tiny bite of art history for the day and maybe some inspiration!

Photo by Peter Ghetu: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-taking-picture-of-the-pieta-in-st-peter-s-basilica-rome-italy-4610924/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/vincross/182183337/in/photolist-h6JL2-LWp6YD-oufpVL-6EaW6B-NyUD6s-2iMhLCB-2nAhhH8-2iWDjU8-2jki2nG-4XsrXa-RcoyYz-2kQPUQh-8DK5BK-8E6HVX-PTahN-29bmXyu-2iHQzin-T41Wuo-7qfLm6-8Nqn5U-CxovV-5QUnEh-y2sdrb-7hWRAV-XCZwjF-6DFtfo-dubiFZ-pBfWKs-9hot64-b1j6Fr-7nTmVZ-dtsTcb-9hrADW-eTHa2y-oWRWGw-7Hhind-oWUK2R-6bavM5-4wJAYP-KKwUb4-7aKmPq-oWRNvm-2kWmmkV-2mGV71p-63rWiS-EvdTH-Bb79DN-3k6iHm-nvCv1-oon4JM

Видео Michelangelo's Pieta in a Nutshell 🌰 канала Kelsie Marie