In his time, artists like Raphael created works that showed the dead Christ being carried away with
the Virgin Mary fainting in the background. Raphael’s ‘Entombment’ takes place
in a lovely landscape with rolling, green hills. There are more characters than
just Christ and Mary that allow for the chorus effect. Four other figures carry
Christ, Mary Magdalene is closest to the body and there are several figures
holding Mary up from fainting. She appears to be crying and in agony. The facial
expressions of this portrait are crucial in that only Mary Magdalene appears to
be truly upset. John is looking in at Christ. All of the others are not even
looking at Christ, they are watching Mary and are worried for her. Christ
himself looks only like he is sleeping. His mouth is open—almost as if he is
snoring or sleeping peacefully.
An important Pieta painted by Baroque artist Annibale Carracci shows a
different interpretation of the scene. In his painting, Christ’s body is
positioned over Mary, but he looks to be flowing down from her lap. His body is
almost fluid. Mary’s hand is turned as if she is asking her son and God why he
had to die. She is, of course, sad, but the emotion lies in her hands. There are
also two cherubs off to the side in the bottom right corner of the painting. One
holds Christ’s hand—which appears to be barely clinging to life. The other is
pointing to His wounds.
Carracci makes use of light and color in his painting by accentuating areas
of the painting that he wants the viewer to see first. The body and position of
Christ are most important, and Carracci paints them so that the emotion of the
story is clearly there. Just by viewing this painting, the pain and heartache
that Mary is feeling is communicated, as well as her confusion in why her son
was chosen to die for all.
Michelangelo and the Pieta
By looking at the section of the ‘Topic v. Painter’ matrix concerning
same subject/same artist, Michelangelo proves to be a great example with his two
Pieta sculptures. In at least two significantly different times in his life,
Michelangelo created sculptures of the Pieta (the moment when Mary holds the
dying Jesus after he has been crucified and taken down from the cross). Probably
the most recognizable Pieta is the one that sits in St. Peter’s Basilica. Like
Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, this Pieta is the definitive Pieta. In 1499,
when he was only 25 years old, Michelangelo created this piece. The figures that
appear are extremely detailed. Following the Renaissance style of exploring
Classical forms, Mary appears in Classical style. She is large and holds a
presence in the statue. Christ is large as well, but Mary is more striking and
young looking. She is present on the throne and shows a certain contained sorrow
in her facial expression. There is some sense of a dead son, but Christ is
sculpted so delicately that he seems as though he is resting on his mother’s lap
and will awaken shortly.
In comparison to the earlier work in 1564, at age 80, he created another
Pieta. This one is left unfinished because he died several days after beginning
work on it. Because of this, only parts of the sculpture are polished, and the
bare stone the sculpture is carved from is still present. This gives a look that
the characters are coming out of the stone. The figures are standing, as opposed
to sitting in the more recognizable position. The figures are connected, but the
one behind is holding up the one in front. Though they are connected, the figure
in the back is being dragged down by the figure in front. The emotions are
alluded to in the body language. Although Michelangelo titled this piece a
Pieta, it is not obvious that the figures are Christ and Mary. Because of this,
Michelangelo is able to speak more to the spiritual aspect of the Pieta, rather
than the physical, as he did years earlier. The sections that are unfinished
also show the fragility of life. Also, since the figures are not easily
recognizable, the universal relationship between mother and son is shown.
Michelangelo’s earlier work came before the Sistine Chapel ceiling paintings.
This was a time when he was a confident artist and man. His first Pieta almost
overlooks the fact that Christ is dead. However, his last work shows the changes
that have occurred during his lifetime. For example, the church has suffered
major attacks by the Protestants and has been forced to reaffirm itself. Also,
Michelangelo himself has seen the height of the Renaissance--and the
repercussions of it. His later Pieta illustrates that he has realized his life
is ending. In fact, the same emotions that are portrayed in his unfinished work
are the same realizations that can be found in his other Sistine Chapel work,
the Final Judgment.