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Pietà

Wiktorya J. Gorynska

1929

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Early Modern

Dominant colour

Pietà is a 1929 by Wiktorya J. Gorynska, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Wiktorya J. Gorynska
When & what style?: 1929
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This painting shows a mother holding her dead child. It's a sad scene. The artist was inspired by older works, which is interesting because it shows how artists can learn from the past. The composition is similar to Michelangelo's sculpture, but with a modern twist. The space is flattened and the forms are simplified. To learn more, look up the technique of sfumato.

The story of this work

Overview

Twentieth-century artists, particularly those seeking to express religious feeling, often turned to Renaissance works of art as models. Although in reverse, the composition of this 20th-century pietà bears strong resemblance to Michelangelo’s 1498 sculpture. Both compositions are deeply mournful, capturing the sorrow of the mother's loss of her child, even while Wiktorya Gorynska’s print displays aspects of modern art such as flattened space and simplified, abstract forms. Gorynska added unique elements, such as the striped shroud and the kneeling figure of Saint John the Evangelist at left.

Read the full account in the museum source.