History and Uniqueness of the Pieta Sculpture by Michelangelo

The Pieta is a renaissance Sculpture made between the years 1498 and 1499 by the legendary artist, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or most commonly known as “Michelangelo”. The Sculpture is located in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The Statue was commissioned by a representative of Rome, who was the French Cardinal Jean de Bilheres. This magnificent work of art is made with Carrara marble and was made for the Cardinal's funeral monument, but it was later moved to its current location in the 18th Century. This work was the only piece Michelangelo ever signed. Also, a small terracotta figure identified as a model for the final version of the sculpture was displayed in Paris. This fabulous piece of art shows the Virgin Mary holding Jesus on her lap after his Crucifixion.

This interpretation of Pieta by Michelangelo is unprecedented in Italian Sculpture. This sculpture shows the balance of Renaissance ideals of classical beauty in naturalism. Michelangelo explored his options and mastered physics with art as he Enlarged Mother Mary enough to support a grown version of Jesus on her lap. This sculpture is touching as it depicts the true and unfiltered characteristics of a mother in pain or even a mother in general. It depicts Holy Mary as a mother in pain, a mentor in agony but more so a human being experiencing infectious sadness. In proportion to the chapel, the sculpture is small. The position of which Mother Mary is holding the mature Jesus is that of a mother embracing her young child. Jesus being on Mother Mary’s lap depicts the Crucifixion in a more intimate and personal way. It resembles so much of a theatrical play, it is highly dramatic as it seems like Mother Mary is carrying Jesus in a spotlight, with the light raining down on them, therefore, showing great grace and elegance.

The Sculpture is a pyramid in shape it creates a large pyramid with the apex being Mother Mary's head and the resting base being her lap. It is a genius move by Michelangelo to balance the weight of a grown adult Jesus. The sculpture is not as natural as one would think as Mother Mary is taller and bigger than Jesus. So this work of art's proportions is not natural and symmetrical. This work shows the ingenuity and the creative genius of Michelangelo as he cleverly hides the unnatural and hyperbolized characteristics of this sculpture with dynamic folds of a full- length drapery. The folds seem like they are made of actual fabric as he’s nailed the drapery and uses its volume to create light and shadows within the drapery. The sculpture feels like it’s in motion due to its dynamic drapery, Michelangelo orchestrates the symphony of the ridges and leads us from Mother Mary’s veil (Headwear) to her feet or the pedestal with great fluidity and harmony. The ruffling pleats also accent Michelangelo’s amazing capability and virtuosity to form marble pieces to deeply-cut masterpieces.

The unique aspect of this work of art is its brilliant illustration of Mother Mary as a Young Woman and not a typical old weeping woman. She is not illustrated as an aging mother but more an elegant maiden bursting with life and emotion. There was a fair share of criticism on Michelangelo for portraying The Virgin Mary in such a manner. But as a third-order Franciscan Michelangelo believed in the fact that Mother Mary incorruptible purity due to her Immaculate Conception. Again to further applaud this great artist's talent the lining of the bottom end of the fabric is crisp and hyper-realistic. If we are to focus on the head of Jesus Christ, it is evident that Mother doesn't have direct contact but she gently embraces Jesus Christ's head with her cloth. That shows how divine and pure the moment is and it weighs on the sacrifice of her Son and how much she respects her son due to his selflessness.

Transitioning onto Jesus Christ it is quite evident that there are no bruises, blood are any damages to be seen on Jesus Christ's body. It is rather smooth and elegant and it appears to be in peace or comfort. The body seems to be accepting the peace it is drawing from Mother Mary almost like a son at peace on his mother's lap, sheltered by her warmth and grace. Jesus Christ's body appears to be weak and it contains veins and exposed ribs, signifying the weakening of Christ's earthly body. The expression on Christ's face is gentle and it is unis cent with the appearance of his arms, stomach, and joints. It shows Christ’s vulnerability and childlike innocence.

Mother Mary's Right-hand holds Jesus Christs Shoulders up and Michelangelo did a magnificent job on making marble-like actual flesh, as it is evident through the compressing of Christ's underarm flesh. Contrasting her son's facial characteristics, Mother Mary's facial expression seems to be coated in sadness. But to her elegance, she is not portrayed to be in extreme devastation or mourning but rather a calm act of grace and tranquility and acceptance of fate. Picking up on acceptance if we focus on Virgin Mary’s Left hand, we can see her opening her hands, almost like paving the way or more showing its audience the path to salvation. It shows us how Christ's body is the bread and his blood is wine and it reminds us of the last judgment, like many other renaissance artworks it reflects on the very essence of the Holy Eucharist. Holy Mary's grace and movement with her hands lead its viewers to the fact that Jesus's death was not his end, but the beginning of something great.

The Color is what we expect of old marble it has a brown tan. But the genius of this artwork is on how Michelangelo used the folds to create shadows to make up for the piece for being monochrome. He made it seem like the shadows are molding it to appear like it is the dimension(Chiaroscuro on 3D). It has the smoothness and gloss of marble and it further shows how elegant and divine the moment is. Looking at this great work of art it feels like we are watching nothing but an intimate moment between a mother and her child. That's how innocent Michelangelo made this work of art look. He made Jesus Christ so light to an extent that it looks like Jesus Christ is about to be suspended to the skies, to take the flight to the afterlife. It is also a bit weird to see someone so divine and mighty as Jesus Christ vulnerable and relatable.

Jesus Christ is seen as a perfect role model and a divine spirit and Michelangelo illuminated the human side of Jesus Christ to an extent that it doesn't seem like he made Jesus Christ look weak but instead he made us feel closer to Jesus Christ more than ever before. That alone is remarkable. This fresh perspective on the crucifixion is the breath of fresh air the renaissance needed to further establish its dominance in the art industry.

References

• Pietà (Michelangelo). (2019, November 4). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietà_(Michelangelo).
• 15 Things You Should Know About Michelangelo's Pietà. (2015, May 11). Retrieved from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63602/15-things-you-should-know-about-michelangelos-pieta.