This subject appeared in both Gothic and Renaissance art. Even though it wasn't until the renaissance that it was fully explored and brought to life and gave feeling to its audience. It has been done in a few different mediums. This subject takes two religious icons and depicts a story that is not told in religious script. The Pieta, which stands for piety and pity, is the depiction of the Virgin Mary, with her only son Jesus Christ after he was taken down from the cross. Michelangelo's Pieta c.1500 was the most refined and the most moving of them all.
When it was sculpted Michelangelo set out to create "the most beautiful work of marble in Rome, one that no living artist could better" (New York: Abrams, Inc, 2001) 438. .
Michelangelo's, sculpture is one of realism. When an artist wants to move an audience, they first need to have a connection with the piece, and the best way through this is realism. In this piece you are meant to contemplate the central mystery of Christian faith- Jesus as god in human form who sacrificed himself to redeem our sins- with the same serenity as Mary herself. Thus seems to be the main focus of this sculpture, along with the facial expressions, the clothing on both the Virgin and Christ and the symbolic meaning of one of the Seven Sorrows (New York: Abrams, Inc, 2001) 437-438. 7.
To begin with the right medium was used. The Pieta was done in marble. The face is smooth and delicate, you know by the expression on the Virgin Mary's face that there is mourning present. Yet her grief is from the inside out. Her emotions come across vaguely on her face. This is not trying to represent the mourning of a savior, but a personal lost of a son to a mother. The face of Christ is majestic; he shows that he did not die in vain, but for a greater cause.
The body of the virgin shows absolute rest, she is in a time of reflection. Her body is responding to having the weight of a dead body on top of her.
