Pieta
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 Spain, circa 1725
Sculpture
Polychromed plaster, macerated linen fibers, gesso- or glue-soaked fabric, wood, papier-mâché, glass and other materials
overall: 45 1/4 × 44 1/2 × 37 in. (115 × 113 × 93.98 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by Eugene V. Klein and Mary Jones-Gaston in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Stone Jones, by exchange (M.2000.12)
One essential point that makes this Spanish Pieta so unique is its materials. Unlike other sculptures, which were mostly made of marble, plaster or wood, this Pieta found in Spain was made of variety of materials, and even included cloth. Specifically, the whole statue’s inner framework and Christ’s body were made of wood and plaster. Mary’s head and hands were made of polychromed plaster. Her eyes look real because they are made from glass. The sculpture also has either macerated linen fibers or a real dress that was glue-soaked. The swirling drapery effect of the mantle is the effect of a real dress. The dress, which was gilded with transparent red glaze, was directly glue-soaked to become Mary’s mantle. The brightness of these materials make the clothing of the two figures appear more vivid to catch the eye of the audience. These types of sculptures that used cloth were popular in Spain at that time (Emerson, “Polychromed Sculpture”).
My own shot of the Pieta
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The Pieta is one of the most common iconographic genres for the Virgin Mary. I chose this particular Pieta, which is now located in room 328 of the Ahmanson Building at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) for my project. The reason I chose it was simple: the lamentation of Mary attracted my attention at first sight. The term pieta is Italian for “pity.” The pieta is used in art to depict the dead Christ’s body being carried in the arms of the sorrowing Mary, his mother (Hall, “Pieta”). According to the Bible, this scene as shown in pieta art occurred after Christ’s descent from the Cross but before his entombment (Ferguson, 149). As for this Pieta at LACMA, there is no information on the artist who made it, only that it was made in Spain around 1725. It is an enormous sculpture: almost four feet in height, four feet in length, and three feet wide. With such large dimensions and measurements, it is unlikely that this statue decorated the interior of a home. Sculptures such as these were made to be placed in churches for Christians to admire, just like the famous Pieta made by Michelangelo, located in the Basilica di San Pietro at the Vatican.
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Michelangelo's Pietà in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican
This Pieta was designed on a stable triangle frame, which includes Christ reclining with his head on Mary’s left hand and his feet on the ground. The postures of the two figures look naturalistic because of the precise proportion of of the two figures’ bodies. Since this Pieta was made around 1725 and reflect artistic developments that occurred after the Renaissance, the knowledge of how to depict the human anatomy served the artist well, as one may see how the sculptor carved the rib beneath the skin of Christ’s body, making the figure look weaker and frail after the torture and death on the cross. The edge of the wound appears raised to show the elasticity of the skin and muscles. As for the bleeding from the wound, the trail does not appear to go straight down but rather inclines with the curvature of the body. The sculptor used this technique to indicate that the spear impaled Christ when he was on the cross but not after he descended from it.
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Another notable feature of this statue is Mary’s emotive expression. With her slightly frowned eyebrows and tightened facial muscles, she looks sorrowful. Her posture also complements her expression. She holds her son’s head carefully while laying him down on the ground with her right hand stretched out above the body to show that she is suffering and does not know what to do.
A close shot of the mantle
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A close shot of facial expression
The sculptor also focused a lot of attention on the decoration and detailing of Mary’s mantle. There are symbols gilded on the cloth. One looks like lily, which is the symbol of Blessed Mary (Appleton, “Lily”). The other might be derived from the fleur de lis, which is also a heraldic version of lily (Appleton, “Fleur de lis”). And as for the color of the mantle, it is dark green and bluish, the hue being probably the result of weathering, as Mary is usually shown wearing a blue cloak. Blue is associated with the ocean, and Mary is also known as “the star of the sea” (Stella Maris), which is the meaning of her name (Hall, “Virgin Mary”).
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Since this Pieta a giant sculpture telling a Christian story, ecclesiastical officials might have commission this statue. It might have been used to decorate a church, a monastery, or any other ecclesiastical building. Sculptures like this Pieta served to attract visitors to a church. Because of the variety of the materials used to make this Pieta, many artisans were likely employed to work on it, such as woodworkers for sourcing the wood, glassmakers for making Mary’s eyes, and weavers, or clothmakers, for the drapery.
Pietas are still very popular among Christians today. Since it can be difficult and expensive to obtain a large sculpture of a Pieta, there are smaller objects that interested customers can buy instead. A lot of smaller versions of the Pieta, figurines or pendant of around six to ten inches in height, seem to be in high demand. Some of these objects are copies or miniature versions of some well-known masterpieces, and others are simply new designs of the Pieta. Besides the small Pieta figurines, there are also carved embossments of Pietas that can be used as wall plaques.
Pietas are still very popular among Christians today. Since it can be difficult and expensive to obtain a large sculpture of a Pieta, there are smaller objects that interested customers can buy instead. A lot of smaller versions of the Pieta, figurines or pendant of around six to ten inches in height, seem to be in high demand. Some of these objects are copies or miniature versions of some well-known masterpieces, and others are simply new designs of the Pieta. Besides the small Pieta figurines, there are also carved embossments of Pietas that can be used as wall plaques.
A Pieta Figurine for sale on Wayfair
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A Pieta Wall Plaque for sale on Ebay
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A Pieta Medal Pendant for sale on Etsy
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Pieta from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1435–40; Made in Swabia, Jagst-Neckar region, Germany; Wood, paint, and gilt; Overall: 35 x 38 x 17 in. (88.9 x 96.5 x 43.2 cm); The Cloisters Collection, 1964
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Since the Pieta first originated in early fourteenth-century Germany, I chose a German Pieta from an earlier period to see how its artistic form and characteristics have changed over time (“Pieta,” Encyclopedia Britannica). This German Pieta is currently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was made between 1425 and 1430 in Germany. Its dimensions and measurements are also smaller than the Pieta in LACMA. As for its material, it is made of wood and gilt, and painted with oils. Just like the Pieta in LACMA, it is also a colorful sculpture of Christ reclined on Mary’s knee. But unlike the LACMA one, in this version Christ is lying in the opposite direction. His head is on Mary’s right hand, not her left. Additionally, the arrangement of the two figures is different. The Pieta in LACMA is based on a triangle frame, which looks quite stable, while this one tends to be more like a cross. Since it was sculpted much earlier than the LACMA Pieta, the proportion of Christ’s head and his upper part of his body is not that precise because a realistic depiction of the human anatomy was not important at that time. And for the same reason, the posture of Christ is not as natural as the Pieta in LACMA. Another difference one may see is that Mary’s mantle is simpler, with gold outside and blue inside, and There are no complicated patterns or symbols on the cloak. And compared to the Pieta in LACMA, this earlier version focused more on the suffering of Christ. And Mary’s pain and lamentation are expressed more directly by frowning ("Pietà | German," Metropolitan Museum of Art). Her emotion is direct and easily communicated. In the Pieta at LACMA, Mary expresses her sorrow in a more obscure manner because her face is not turned to the viewer. Her lamentation is hidden but still there. The emotion tends to be expressed instead by whole postures of the two figures.
Luis Salvador Carmona (1708-1787)
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Luis Salvador Carmona was an important sculptor in Spain in the eighteenth century. He was trained by Juan Alonso Villabrille y Ronin in Madrid around 1723. He remained working in his master’s workshop even after Ronin’s death. From there, he learned how to sculpt. His work was influenced by his native Spanish sculptural tradition. After 1732, he left and started his own business and began his successful career as a sculptor for over thirty years. During his career, he executed thousands of commissions in the region of Madrid and others subcontracted to him. The Church ordered many of his commissions. As a result, many of his works are altarpieces for churches in Spain, such as the wooden sculpture for a retable and Christ figure. Unlike early sculptors who preferred stone, most of the material he used for sculptures was polychromed wood. He was not only the sculptor part but also painted his works in his own workshop. Besides being influenced by Spanish artistry, he was also interested in the elegance of French styles. Through communication with other artists, he absorbed the characteristics of French sculptors who worked in Madrid, like René Frémin, Jean Thierry, and Jacques Bousseau. And by combining both Spanish and French styles, he created his own style of sculpture, which focused on naturalism, elegance, and delicacy. His figures were usually composed of soft facial expressions, and sported drapery with motifs. He became the director of the academy’s sculpture section in 1752 and retired in 1765 because of health problems (Trusted, “Salvador Carmona”). Since he worked in Madrid in the eighteenth century, he may have been the sculptor of the Pieta at LACMA since his style can be seen in this object, though there is no concrete evidence of such a connection. The LACMA Pieta was made of polychromed plaster and wood while most of Luis’s works were made of polychromed wood. He preferred natural and elegant style of sculptures, which are exactly the features of the two figures in the LACMA Pieta. The cockling dress and the floral symbols on the mantle are also quite similar to what we see in Carmona’s works. In any case, Carmona’s career is illustrative of the type of training sculptors has in eighteenth-century Spain.
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Polychromed wood, height 86 cm
Private collection: Here is one of Carmona's polychromed sculptures of St Francis of Assisi
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Work Cited
Appleton, LeRoy H. and Stephen Bridges. Symbolism in Liturgical Art. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1959.
Emerson, Stephanie, ed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
Ferguson, George. Signs and Symbols in Christian Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1954.
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. New York: Harper and Row, 1974.
"Pietà | German." Pietà. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
"Pietà." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica Academic. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Trusted, Marjorie and Juan J. Luna. "Salvador Carmona." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Emerson, Stephanie, ed. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003.
Ferguson, George. Signs and Symbols in Christian Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1954.
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. New York: Harper and Row, 1974.
"Pietà | German." Pietà. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
"Pietà." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica Academic. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
Trusted, Marjorie and Juan J. Luna. "Salvador Carmona." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
