Pietà is a Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, which can be found in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. Mary holds the body of Jesus after his Crucifixion in this famous work of art.
French Ambassador in Rome, Cardinal Jean de Bilhères, commissioned the statue.
In 18th-century Rome, the sculpture was made for a funeral monument for the cardinal, but it was moved to its present location, the first chapel west of the entrance of the basilica.
It is Michelangelo’s only signed work.
Pieta Facts for Kids
- Michelangelo completed this sculpture in just 2 years.
- Work began in 1498 AD and ended in 1499 AD.
- The work was displayed at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.
- Michelangelo’s depiction of Mary in this sculpture has been criticized as making her look too young.
- As soon as it was carved, other artists noticed its greatness
- The statue was badly damaged in 1972 by an unemployed geologist from Hungary.
- It took ten months to restore.
Who was Michelangelo
Michelangelo’s humanism and naturalism were major influences on Western art during the Renaissance.
He designed the Laurentian Library and worked on the Sistine Chapel, and finished the western end of St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as the dome, after his death.
Michelangelo’s work was the first to be described as “supreme in all art” and “supreme in all art.”
Michelangelo’s style was often called the “divine one” because of his ability to make viewers feel awe at his art.
He was born in Caprese, a small town in Valtiberina, near Arezzo, Tuscany. His father was the town’s judicial administrator, and his mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena.
