Pietà

The portrayal of the Virgin Mary with the body of her son draped across her lap is known as a Pietà. These images illustrated the message of the doctrine on Mary’s involvement in the act of Salvation. In this example of a Pietà we do not see despair on the face of the Virgin as she ponders of the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Instead, her face reveals pain, sadness and reflection, with the entire composition steeped in a poetic atmosphere. Mournful angels hold a lance and a sponge, which, along with the cross and the nails driven into it, symbolise the connection between suffering and the benevolence of the Redeemer. The inclusion of the painting’s benefactor, shown kneeling near the edge, suggests that this work of art may have served as an epitaph. The painting can be grouped with other works from Krakow that ushered in a new stage in the art of Lesser Poland around the mid-15th century. At that time, the tradition of the International Gothic style, still dominant in this work of art, began to be displaced by inspiration drawn from new artistic trends, such as can be noted here in the sharp and jagged folds in Christ’s loincloth and the robes of the angels and benefactor. Also conspicuous are Mary’s Italianesque facial features, very similar to her portrayal in the Piekary Madonna also on display in this room.