Pietà

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This article is about a form of 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 is 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.

Examples

The most famous Pietà is Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Michelangelo's last work was another Pietà, this one featuring not the Virgin Mary holding Christ, but rather Joseph of Arimathea. Michelangelo carved Joseph's face as a self-portrait, a final act of piety wherein the sculptor placed himself in the biblical account.

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.

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."

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

Gallery

See also

• Descent from the Cross
• Stations of the Cross

References

External links

• Religious commentary on the Pietà
• Our Lady of Fatima Parish Feast Commission in Pietà, Malta
• Various B&W Pietà photos by Robert Hupka

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Last updated on Tuesday March 11, 2008 at 16:10:28 PDT (GMT -0700)
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