pieta
Mother cradles son
A pietà is a representation in painting or sculpture of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ after the crucifixion.
The term comes from Italian for "pity" or "compassion." Michelangelo's marble sculpture in St.
Peter's Basilica is the most famous example.
The image emphasizes maternal grief and has become an iconic motif in Western art.
Mother of Christ
- JesusChristian faith's divine son
- lamentationPassionate expression of grief
- crucifixionExecution by cross
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
Madonna · Christ · lap · maternal · embrace · veil · drapery · descent
Recrystallized limestone rock
- carvingShaping by cutting away
- statueThree-dimensional sculpted likeness
- bas-reliefSculpture projecting slightly
- polishedSmooth, refined, accomplished
stone · figurine · bronze · alabaster · clay · relief · funerary · tomb
Deep emotional distress
- lamentationPassionate expression of grief
- mourningPeriod following loss
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- compassionConcern for others' distress
bereavement · loss · consolation · tears · suffering · tenderness · tragedy · death
European cultural reawakening
- VaticanPapal city-state
- St. Peter's BasilicaRome's principal Catholic church
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
- masterpieceSupreme artistic achievement
Italian · sculptor · Carrara · commission · High Renaissance · humanism · Florentine · papal
Trust without proof
- prayerAddress to deity
- meditationFocused attention practice
- venerationProfound admiring respect
- churchPlace of Christian worship
cathedral · altar · sacred · sanctity · worship · contemplation · Catholic · Christian
Virgin Mary
Mother of Christ
- JesusChristian faith's divine son
- lamentationPassionate expression of grief
- crucifixionExecution by cross
deposition · Madonna · Christ · lap · maternal · embrace · veil · drapery · descent · religious art
marble
Recrystallized limestone rock
- carvingShaping by cutting away
- statueThree-dimensional sculpted likeness
- bas-reliefSculpture projecting slightly
polished · stone · figurine · bronze · alabaster · clay · relief · funerary · tomb · monument
sorrow
Deep emotional distress
- lamentationPassionate expression of grief
- mourningPeriod following loss
- anguishIntense mental suffering
compassion · bereavement · loss · consolation · tears · suffering · tenderness · tragedy · death · lament
Renaissance
European cultural reawakening
- VaticanPapal city-state
- St. Peter's BasilicaRome's principal Catholic church
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
masterpiece · Italian · sculptor · Carrara · commission · High Renaissance · humanism · Florentine · papal · restoration
faith
Trust without proof
- prayerAddress to deity
- meditationFocused attention practice
- venerationProfound admiring respect
church · cathedral · altar · sacred · sanctity · worship · contemplation · Catholic · Christian · religious
- death artmemento mori, vanitas, danse macabre, dance of death, skull art
- medieval arttapestry, ivory carvings, Book of Kells, fresco, Lindisfarne Gospels
- Old MastersMichelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, Titian
- religious printsholy cards, prayer cards, holy images, sacred imagery, biblical scenes
- sacred artsicon painting, sacred music, sacred architecture, sacred chant, religious sculpture
- Saint Artholy card, reliquary, halo, nimbus, aureole
pietacruelty
Deliberate harm-causing disposition
hatred · indifference · brutality · callousness · cold-heartedness
pietanativity
State of being born
Madonna and Child · Annunciation · Visitation · Resurrection · Assumption
pietaimpiety
Irreverence toward the divine
sacrilege · profanity · irreverence · blasphemy · desecration
- filial pietyRespect owed to parents
- Christian pietyReligious devotion and virtue