 The
Pieta, which depicts the Virgin Mary holding the
body of her son Jesus Christ after his death, has
been created in many different forms by various
painters and sculptors. Of all the great paintings
and sculptures on the Pieta, however, the one by
Michelangelo stands out from all the rest.
Prior to sculpting the Pieta, Michelangelo was
relatively unknown to the world as an artist.
He was only in his early twenties when he was
commissioned in 1498 to do a life-size sculpture
of the Virgin Mary holding her son in her arms.
It would be the first of four that he would create
and the only one he completely finished. It was
to be unveiled in St. Peter's Basilica for the
Jubilee of 1500.
In less than two years Michelangelo carved from
a single slab of marble, one of the most magnificent
sculptures ever created. His interpretation of
the Pieta was far different than ones previously
created by other artists. Michelangelo decided
to create a youthful, serene and celestial Virgin
Mary instead of a broken hearted and somewhat
older woman.
When it was unveiled a proud Michelangelo stood
by and watched as people admired the beautiful
Pieta. However, what was pride quickly turned
into anger as he overheard a group of people attributing
the work to other artists of his time. That anger
caused Michelangelo to add one last thing to his
sculpture. Going down the sash on the Virgin Mary,
Michelangelo carved his name. He later regretted
that his emotions got the best of him and vowed
to never sign another one of his works again.
We hope that you will enjoy our selection of
The Pieta by Michelangelo. We have a variety of
sizes from which to choose. All of them are imported
from Italy and made with exacting standards from
bonded carrara marble.
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Gallery here.
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