Pietà
Vaticano, Prati
È uno dei primi capolavori del celeberrimo artista toscano e in assoluto una delle più celebri opere della storia dell’arte.
- Artist: Michelangelo
- Location: Pietà
- Date: 1497 - 1499
This is one of the first masterpieces of the famed artist from Tuscany, only twenty at the time, and one of the most famed works of all time. It was commissioned by the french Cardinal and ambassador for Charles VIII, Jean de Bilhères, for his entombment in the Church of Santa Petronilla. In 1517 it was brought to Saint Peter's and, after being moved several times, it has been in the first chapel to the right since 1779. It is signed on the band running diagonally across the body of the Virgin.
THINGS TO KNOW: 21 May 1972 the work was struck 15 times by australian geologist Laszlo Toth who attacked the statue screaming “I am Jesus Christ, risen from from the dead!”. The left arm, nose and an eyelid of the Virgin were all restored.
