One of the greatest works of art ever made is Pietà by #Michelangelo Buonarroti.

☞ Do you know…

‣ Sculpture is a symbolic projection rather than a truthful representation: #Madonna is in fact very young compared to the age she would have had when her son died, because it would correspond to the appearance of when Christ was conceived. According to the author, this choice shows that life faithful to Christianity preserves youth and the #beauty [of the soul]

‣ Michelangelo’s mastery was supported here by the quality of the #marble that he personally chose, commissioned by a French cardinal. The artist, only twenty years old, exploited the folds of the clothes, through a play of light and dark, to give “movement” and three-dimensionality to the characters. It was also inspired by previous editions of the same subject, such as #Pietà by Perugino, but totally innovating the posture of the bodies, in particular by intervening on the rigidity, thus making “their own” much more natural

⇒ Date: 1497-1499

⇒ Material: Carrara marble

⇒ Dimensions: 1,74 x 1,95 m

⇒ Site: Basilica di San Pietro, Rome