Creative Commons License
Pietà
(Medieval Europe )
"Pietà" is the name given to the image of Christ's mother sorrowing over her dead son. The ultimate model of human piety, she provided a perfect image for private meditation. Northern artists often conveyed the extreme emotion of the subject through angular, rigid forms, especially in their depiction of Christ's dead body.
The Pietà as a subject was developed in northern Europe during the late 14th century. This interpretation belongs to a stylistically related group of sculptures, some of which were exported to Rimini, Italy. Beginning around 1500, the subject was adopted by Italian artists, and it may well have been a sculpture such as this one that inspired Michelangelo's great Pietà in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1913, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1962 | The International Style: The Arts in Europe Around 1400. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 7/20/1964 | Treatment | cleaned; other |
Geographies
Germany, Westphalia (Place of Origin)
Measurements
13 1/2 x 11 7/16 x 5 1/4 in. (34.3 x 29.1 x 13.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1913
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
27.349