The Pietà Statue

A LOOK AT

Scholars have also described the Pietà sculptor as one of the most successful artists of his era, while being the most documented artist in history alongside Leonardo da Vinci.

MICHELANGELO

The Pietà statue by Michelangelo was commissioned by the Cardinal, Jean de Bilhères de Lagraulas who was also the ambassador of the Holy See on behalf of the French monarchy.

STATUE

The theme of Michelangelo’s statue was Pietà, which means pity and piety (Latin) and referenced the aftermath of the crucifixion of the venerated biblical figure, Jesus Christ.

THEME

The Pietà statue was sculpted in a pyramidal format with the vertex meeting at the top with Mary’s head. The characters were not in proportion.

STRUCTURE

In 1964, the iconic statue, Pietà, was sent to New York for exhibition at the World Fair, which garnered around 51 million people within 18 months.

PIETÀ IN NEW YORK

On 21 May 1971, Laszlo Toth ran towards the statue and hit Pietà with a hammer 15 times before being dragged off the statue and detained. The motive behind the attack was unknown.

ATTACK ON PIETÀ

The famous Pietà statue initially had no signature and was first mistaken for the work of another artist by the name of Il Gobbo.

INTERESTING FACTS

The terracotta figure surfaced 20 years ago after being acquired by an antiquarian who assumed the sculpture was worthless. The antiquarian stored the object in a box and sold it to a collector for peanuts.

TERRACOTTA PIETÀ