Why it matters
The dead Christ, just taken down from the cross, lies across his mother's lap. A key work of Italian Renaissance sculpture, often taken as the start of the High Renaissance, it balances early naturalism with classical ideals of beauty.
Did you know?
- It dates from 1498–1499.
- It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed.
- Mary looks younger than Jesus, perhaps inspired by a passage in Dante's Paradiso.
- It was commissioned by the French cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas for his funeral chapel.
Based on the Wikipedia article Pietà (Michelangelo) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
