The theme of the Pieta has been carved and painted countless
times but so glorious was that of the twenty-four year old Michelangelo
that when the name is mentioned it is this statue that immediately
comes to mind. When one gazes in admiration at the finely polished
figures, senses the contemplation which they evoke and the beauty
of it all, it seems inconceivable that this marvelous work came
from a rough block of marble hauled out of the quarries at Carrara.
It is so perfect that we accept it without realizing how unique
it is and how far it departs from the conventional conception.
Pietas before this had mostly been carved from wood by northern
artists. Their starkness seemed intended to shock the viewer
into realization of Christ's sacrifice. With Michelangelo it
was different. He had once said, "If life is pleasing to
us, death, which was made by the hands of the same creator, should
not be displeasing to us." Mary accepts the fate, her grief
is expressed through the delicacy of her extended hand. Even
the Christ in death is a paradox for it is as though he were
not dead at all but only sleeping in the arms of his gentle mother.
The distended veins perceptible in his limp arm tell us that
blood still pulses through his body. By the terms of the contract
the young master formed the body of Christ in life-like proportions
and he made the head of the virgin in corresponding size. But
should she rise she would stand nearly seven feet in height.
The sculptor had often said that the compass should be kept in
the eye rather than the hand, because it is the eye that judges.
With great cunning he deceives us in the interest of presenting
his magnificent image. The virgin is represented as being younger
than the son. Her tender age and gentle face filled with spiritual
and physical beauty speak of perpetual purity. To Michelangelo
there was splendorous beauty in the human body. In depicting
Christ he found that "There was no need to conceal the human
behind the divine." |
