Pietà
2003 © Maxim Tabachnik
Putti with GarlandPietàSkeleton of DeathLuis at St. Peter’s BasilicaLuis Resting at St Peter’s BasilicaNave and Baldachin of St Peter’sSt. Peter’s Square with IrinaInterior of St Peter’s BasilicaIrma and Alicia on St. Peter’s SquareEarly Christian Mosaic FloorBaldachin of St. Peter with Irma, Irina, and Alicia

PietàMichelangelo

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This marble sculpture (1498–99) shows the Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ after the Crucifixion. Carved by Michelangelo at age twenty-four, it unites idealized form and anatomical accuracy with restrained pathos. Commissioned for St Peter’s Basilica, the Pietà exemplifies High Renaissance harmony between human beauty and divine suffering.