Pietà, set against an arched ruin
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 14 1/16 × 10 3/16 in. (35.7 × 25.9 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.601.59
Art Historical Context
Behold the poignant *Pietà, set against an arched*, an engraving from 1556–72 to both Michelangelo Buonarroti and the Master of the Name Jesus Christ. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Drawings and Prints, this 14 1/16 × 10 3/16 in. sheet captures the timeless Renaissance theme of the Virgin Mary cradling the lifeless of Christ, framed dramatically by crumbling classical architecture. Michelangelo, the High Renaissance master renowned for his sculptures like the Vatican *Pietà*, likely provided the original design, while the Master—an anonymous 16th-century engraver—masterfully translate...
About the Artist
Michelangelo Buonarroti|Master of the Name of Jesus Christ · 1475–1564
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475–1564) stands as the quintessential figure of the Italian High Renaissance, a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet whose mastery across disciplines embodied the era's humanist ideals. Born on March 6, 1475, in Caprese within the Republic of Florence to a modest family—his father, Lodovico di Buonarroti Simoni, served as a minor magistrate—Michelang...