Michelangelo

THE PIETA

• Michelangelo
• The Pieta
• Marble sculpture
• 174 x 195 cm
• 1498-1499

Michelangelo was born in 1475 in Caprese, Italy.  He was an architect, painter, sculpture, and poet.  He is best known as an artist of Italian Renaissance.

"With my wet-nurse's milk, I sucked in the hammer and chisels I use for my statues" -Michelangelo

"The sculpture is unique in many ways, including the treatment given to the subject by the artist by not highlighting death and suffering, but treating it as 'the communion between man and God by the sanctification through Christ" - Krishna

The Pieta was originally commissioned for French cardinal Jean de Billheres funeral monument and it was originally placed at the Chapel of Santa Petronilla.  The chapel was destroyed and replaced by Donato Bramante, an Italian architect who designed St. Peter's Basilica.  The sculpture was moved into St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City where it is still today. 

Religion plays such an important role in many people's lives, and for many people it gives them a sense of freedom.  I chose this piece because I felt that it represented freedom through Christ and the sacrifice that he made for us all.  There is a sense of freedom in believing in God, and I felt that this piece portrayed that.