Artwork
Pietà
Pietà is an oil painting by the Spanish Baroque Tenebrist artist Juan de Valdés Leal. It dates from 1657 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The pairing of the lifeless Christ with the grieving Virgin embodies the sorrow of the Passion and invites contemplation of maternal grief and human mortality.
Juan de Valdés Leal's Pietà centers on the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus Christ following the Crucifixion, the defining motif of the Pietà devotional tradition. According to the work's cataloguing, the painting depicts death, Mary, sadness, and Jesus Christ, with the Pietà itself identified as the main subject. The pairing of the lifeless Christ with the grieving Virgin embodies the sorrow of the Passion and invites contemplation of maternal grief and human mortality.
Rendered in oil on canvas and held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 1657 composition translates the iconography of mourning and sacrifice into a focused religious image.
Technique & Style
The work titled Pietà, painted by Juan de Valdés Leal in 1657, is executed in oil on canvas, a support noted in the documentation. The painting measures 160.7 cm in height by 143.5 cm in width and belongs to the religious genre, portraying themes of death, Mary, sadness, and Jesus Christ. Its material consists of oil paint applied to a canvas support, typical of Spanish Baroque practice of the period.
No specific handling or conservation details are recorded, and the current condition is not specified in the available records.
History & Provenance
The Pietà, an oil-on-canvas painting depicting the sorrowful Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Jesus Christ, was created by the Spanish artist Juan de Valdés Leal in 1657. This religious work, classified within the genre of religious art, measures approximately 160.7 centimeters in height and 143.5 centimeters in width. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
While the specific details regarding its original commission or the precise chain of ownership prior to its arrival at the museum are not detailed in the provided records, the work is definitively attributed to Valdés Leal and dated to the mid-17th century. The piece serves as a significant example of the artist's exploration of themes surrounding death and sadness.
The Pietà by Juan de Valdés Leal, an oil on canvas work dated 1657, is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The painting measures 160.7 cm in height by 143.5 cm in width. No accession number or detailed exhibition history is recorded in the available sources.
Overview
Juan de Valdés Leal's Pietà, an oil painting completed in 1657, is a devotional work depicting a pivotal moment in Christian theology. This composition portrays the Virgin Mary mourning over the deceased body of Jesus Christ, a common subject in religious art that emphasizes sacrifice and grief. The artwork is currently part of the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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