Pietà: post-Crucifixion pain...
4:29 p.m.
Sometimes, sculptures can become a bridge between what's there, the tridimensional, and its spiritual meaning...
Pietá, by Michelangelo Buonarotti (1498/99)
Materials: marble / Measures: 1,74 x 1,95 m
St Peter's Cathedral, Vatican City.
In the 15th century, Michelangelo does this Pietà which can easily move anyone watching it. A Virgin Mary, young as a girl, holds, with barely two fingers of her right hand, the dead body of her son Jesus Christ, minutes after being removed from the cross. Although it is possibly the most painful moment for any mother, Mary's face shows only peace.
By the end of his life, Michelangelo would carve another Pietà, the Pietà Rondanini, left unfinished, abandoning the triangular composition, to present a less-serene Virgin Mary, barely strong enough to hold the body of her son...
By the end of his life, Michelangelo would carve another Pietà, the Pietà Rondanini, left unfinished, abandoning the triangular composition, to present a less-serene Virgin Mary, barely strong enough to hold the body of her son...
Pietá Rondanini, by Miguel Angel Buonarotti (1564)
Materials: Marble / Measures: 195 cm
Castello Sforzesco, Milano.
Premier deuil, by William Adolphe Bouguereau (1888)
Technique: oil on canvas / Measures: 203 x 250 cm
MNBA - Donated by Francisco Uriburu in 1939.
In the 19th Century, and probably inspired by Michelangelo, Bouguereau paints the work above in which Adam and Eve cry over the death of their son Abel. In the center of the scene, Eve seeks refuge in the chest of her husband, hiding her pain. The corpse of the son lies on the knees of his father. It's an extremely painful moment, yet cautious. The media in those days stated that it was impossible to see the painting without feeling distress.
Souvenir pietá, de Fabio Viale.
Back in the 21st Century, Michelangelo still inspires artists. In the work above, Italian sculptor Fabio Viale returns to Christ's dead body, but without the Virgin Mary. His body just lies there, as if asking visitors to help him from falling down. The pain is also there and Christians are moved by this man that gave his life to save them.
Keep reading... "Los dueños del arte. Coleccionismo y consumo cultural en Buenos Aires", de M. Baldasarre, 2006, Buenos Aires, Edhasa.
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