1516
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
The Pietà is a 1516 by Marcantonio Raimondi, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see Mary cradling Jesus after the crucifixion, her face calm but heavy with grief. This version started as a drawing by Raphael, then was carved into metal by Raimondi. It borrows Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of the same scene but flattens it into lines and shadows. The folds of Mary’s robe look almost like marble, yet the ink makes them feel alive. Look up *sfumato* to see how soft edges can make a scene feel quiet and deep.
The pietà—a scene of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ—was a traditional subject for sculpture in Northern Europe. Michelangelo’s sculpted Pietà of 1498 brought the composition to Italy and infused it with the idealism of classical sculpture. His contemporary, Raphael, designed this version of the scene two decades later, which was then engraved by Marcantonio Raimondi. It builds upon Michelangelo’s sculpted version but focuses on Mary’s statuesque pose and her intense expression of grief. The dead Christ—still idealized and classical in form—is laid before her rather than held…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Marcantonio Raimondi, often called simply Marcantonio (c. 1470/82 – c. 1534), was an Italian engraver, known for being the first important printmaker whose body of work consists largely of prints copying paintings. He…
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