Pietà

This is a private moment of grief between two major events in the life of Christ: the crucifixion and the entombment. Christ’s body lies in the lap of the Virgin Mary as she and two cherubs mourn his death. The crucifix is still apparent in the distance, while Christ’s tomb sits just behind the figures. The cherubs’ faces glow red with pain and sadness. They both weep: one holding Christ’s hand, pointing to the wound of the stigmata, while the other holds and points to the nail that inflicted that wound. 

This composition seems to be based partly on the Italian painter Annibale Carracci’s (1560-1609) etching of the Christ of Caprarola (well-known through engravings), and partly on his Capodimonte Pietà (in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy). The Carracci family redefined the Bolognese school of painting with their new works and theories which departed from they saw to be the highly artificial style of Mannerist painters before them. They professed that paintings should be founded upon the study of nature. This resulted in a naturalistic style and clarity of composition that created more accessible religious imagery.