Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Pietà
(Baroque Europe )
A Pietà (meaning compassion in Italian) is the image of the Virgin Mary mourning her dead son. In the Bible, she mourns along with others. Isolating her focuses the viewer's attention on her suffering and her compassion for her son's suffering, thereby offering the ultimate example for pious Catholics.
The idealized, muscular body of the dead Christ is set off against the stately, pyramidal figure of Mary in her voluminous robe and presented to the viewer so that he or she, like the Virgin Mary, can meditate on Christ's sacrifice. The silvery tones, like the ahistorical setting, lend an aura of timelessness to the subject.
For more information on this painting, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 437, p. 549.
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.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [1897 catalogue: no. 165, as Guido Reni]; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2016-2017 | In the Light of Naples: The Art of Francesco de Mura. Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkeepsie. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Examination | examined for condition | |
| 2/3/1944 | Treatment | coated; loss compensation; cleaned |
| 6/1/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 9/21/1987 | Treatment | cleaned; repaired; loss compensation; coating; other |
Geographies
Italy, Naples (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 24 7/8 × W: 19 3/8 × D: 1 in. (63.18 × 49.21 × 2.54 cm); Framed H: 36 5/8 × W: 30 × D: 3 3/4 in. (93.03 × 76.2 × 9.53 cm) with build-up
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Not on view
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.
37.1125