Everything about Pieta totally explained
» This article is about a subject in art. There is also a town called Pietà, Malta:
For the manga by Nanae Haruno, see Pietà (manga).
The
Pietà (pl. same;
Italian for
pity) is a subject in Christian art depicting
the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of
Jesus, most often found in
sculpture. As such, it's a particular form of the devotional theme of
Our Lady of Sorrows, and also a scene from the
Passion of Christ and is the 13th of the
Stations of the Cross. When Christ and the Virgin are surrounded by other figures from the New Testament (see
Deposition of Christ), the subject is strictly called a
Lamentation, although Pietà is often used for this as well. The Pietà developed in Florence, Italy in 1500, and reached Italy about 1505. Many German and Polish 15th century examples in wood greatly emphasise Christ's wounds.
Etymology
The term "pietà" (Latin:
pietas) originated from a custom of the Roman Empire around the time of 64 AD, referring to the act of prostrating oneself, and putting forth an "Emotion...of great love accompanied with revering fear....of the [Roman] Gods."
Examples
The most famous Pietà is
Michelangelo's Pietà in
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. His interpretation is different from most earlier pietà statues, which were usually smaller and in wood. The Virgin is also unusually youthful, and in repose, rather than the older, sorrowing Mary of most pietàs. Michelangelo's last work was another Pietà, this one featuring not the Virgin Mary holding Christ, but rather
Joseph of Arimathea, probably carved as a self-portrait.
Sculptor
Luis Jiménez, reversing the gender of the figures involved, used the popular Mexican and Chicano image and myth of the Aztec warrior holding his dead lover to create the monumental
Southwest Pietà, located in
Albuquerque,
New Mexico,
USA.
The
American Pietà was the name given to a famous Reuters photograph of the
September 11, 2001 attacks on the
United States, depicting a policeman and four firemen carrying the body of fire department chaplain
Mychal F. Judge out of the
World Trade Center rubble.
A rare leather pietà is in the church
St. Peter and Paul in
Eschweiler,
Germany.
In
1990 the
German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen wrote a piece, as part of the
Tuesday cycle of his
opera '
Licht,' titled 'Pietà.' In the performance
Michael lies wounded and is tended to by
Eve.
Gallery
Image:Köln st severin pieta.jpg|German wood Pietà
Image:Meister der Pietà von Avignon 004.jpg|The Avignon Pietà, 15th century
Image:pieta_michelangelo_particolare.PNG|Michelangelo's Pieta, detail
Image:Michelangelo Pieta Firenze.jpg|Pietà by Michelangelo, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence
Image:Angers Book of Hours (folio 13r).jpg|The prayer Obsecro te (1470s), from the Book of Hours of Angers
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Image:Van-der-Weyden-Pieta.jpg|Pietà by Rogier van der Weyden, Museo del Prado, Madrid, with Saint John and a donor.
Image:Southwest-Pieta.jpg|SouthWest Pieta, by Luis Jiménez
Image:Lapietaweb.jpg|La Pieta, by Doug Johnston
Image:Statuegoodfriday.jpg|Il-Pietà statue, Żejtun, Malta
Image:Lebpieta.JPG|Pieta near the base of the Our Lady of Lebanon statue, Harissa
Image:Pieta, Dubrovnik.JPG|Church doorway in Dubrovnik
Image:Cruz del milenio 14.JPG|La Pietà on the base of Cruz del Tercer Milenio, Coquimbo, Chile
Further Information
Get more info on 'Pieta'.
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