It’s hard to believe this is cold stone. The way the fabric folds and the weight of the body is captured. Face to face with Michelangelo’s Pietà — marble somehow made more human than stone has any right to be.
The Pietà was carved by Michelangelo when he was in his early 20s (1498–1499). It shows Mary holding the body of Christ after the Crucifixion and sits in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Made from a single block of Carrara marble which Michelangelo claimed was the most perfect block he ever worked with, the Pietà is the only work Michelangelo ever signed. If you look closely at the sash running across Mary’s chest, his name is carved into it.
