Pietà

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 is a particular form of the "Lamentation of Christ", a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the "Life of Christ". When Christ and the Virgin are surrounded by other figures from the New Testament, the subject is strictly called a "Lamentation" in English, although "Pietà" is often used for this as well, and is the normal term in Italian. The Pietà developed in Germany about 1300, reached Italy about 1400, and was especially popular in Central Europe. [G Schiller, "Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. II",1972 (English trans from German), Lund Humphries, London, pp. 179-181, figs 622-39, ISBN 853313245] Many German and Polish 15th century examples in wood greatly emphasise Christ's wounds. The Deposition of Christ and the "Lamentation" or "Pietà" form the 13th of the Stations of the Cross, as well as one of Seven Sorrows of the Virgin.

Michelangelo

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.

Extensions of the theme

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.

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. [ [http://home.swipnet.se/sonoloco13/stockhausen/40A.html Karlheinz Stockhausen - Edition No.40: Dienstag aus Licht (1/5) ] ]

A rare leather pietà is in the church "St. Peter and Paul" in Eschweiler, Germany.

In 2001 Sam Taylor-Wood created a film pietà with Robert Downey Jr. The film is 2:04 minutes long, and shows Robert Downey Jr being held by Sam Taylor-Wood.

“With that piece I wanted to see the struggle, to see the weight, so to speak. You can see the muscles in my arms and neck straining, and my breathing is really laboured. It’s silent, but you can see me heaving to keep him held up. I drop him a bit, and pick him up, and drop him again. You couldn’t do that in a photograph in the same way.” (Sam Taylor-Wood) [ [http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/robert-downey-jr-iron-man-thrilled-to-be-back-from-the-dark-side/ Robert Downey, Jr: Iron Man Thrilled to be Back from the Dark Side « Et Cetera: Publick and Privat Curiosities ] ]

Gallery

Enguerrand Charonton, 15th century
Book of Hours of Angers
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Madrid, with Saint John and a donor.
Cologne.
Florence
Dubrovnik

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La_Pieta,_by_Doug_JohnstonImage:Statuegoodfriday.jpg|Il-Pietà_statue,_Żejtun, Malta
Pieta_near_the_base_of_the_Our Lady of Lebanon statue, Harissa
Cruz del Tercer Milenio, Coquimbo, Chile

ee also

* Roman Catholic Marian art
* Descent from the Cross
* Stations of the Cross

References

External links

* [http://xrysostom.blogspot.com/2005/08/pieta.html Religious commentary on the Pietà]
* [http://www.festafatima.com Our Lady of Fatima Parish Feast Commission in Pietà, Malta]
* [http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/Pieta/Pieta.htm Michelangelo's Pieta in St Peter's Basilica]