1596
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Pietà is a 1596 by Hendrik Goltzius, a Renaissance work, depicting Lamentation of Christ, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman sits holding a limp man across her lap. His body is pale, his eyes closed. She looks down, quiet and still. Around them, shadows press close. This is the Virgin Mary with Jesus after his death. Goltzius made this print in 1596, years after a trip to Italy. He saw Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of the same scene. But Goltzius worked in the Netherlands, where artists often shared ideas through prints. He mixed what he saw in Italy with the detailed style common in Dutch art at the time. Look at the heavy folds in Mary’s clothes — they add weight and sorrow. The Cleveland Museum of Art holds this print today. (Word count: 115)
Northern Renaissance responses to Italian art were often filtered through prints and other secondary sources while maintaining ties to regional artistic traditions. Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius traveled to Italy in 1590–91 and developed an intense admiration for the work of Michelangelo. This print depicting a pietà may reflect his knowledge of Michelangelo’s sculpted Pietà while referencing prints from his native Holland.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Hendrick Goltzius (German: , Dutch: ; né Goltz; January or February 1558 – 1 January 1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman, and painter.
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