Book Description

The image of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ in her lap caught the popular imagination in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Forsyth, Curator Emeritus of Medieval Art at The Metropolitan Museum, surveys 167 Pieta sculptures, examining the image's rise, spread, and significance and focusing on the intriguingly diverse depictions of the Virgin's emotional state, as well as other distinctive regional variations. In addition, written sources of the Pieta image and its references in mystical writings are discussed. A catalogue provides summary information about some 1,250 Pietas. Includes 200 bandw illustrations and five maps. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR