On view
Pietà,
15th century
The Virgin Mary balances the dead Christ across her lap as she laments his death. Two unidentified women stand behind the holy figures; one holds an ointment jar to anoint Christ’s body for burial. The skulls and bones scattered on the ground indicate that the setting is Golgotha, the hill near Jerusalem where Christ’s Crucifixion took place.
Alabaster became a favored material for devotional relief panels such as this one because of its workability and luster. Softer than marble, the stone is easy to carve and can be used to capture delicate details. Its warm, translucent glow is reminiscent of human flesh. Alabaster sculptures were often fully or partially painted; this example retains some of its original polychromy.
More About This Object
Information
15th century
Europe, England, Nottingham
Dan Fellows Platt (1873 -1938), Englewood, NJ;
By descent to Ethel Bliss Platt (1881-1971), Englewood, NJ in 1938; [1]
Deposited by the above at the Princeton University Art Museum in 1949 and fully acquired in 1962.
Notes:
[1] Dan Fellows Platt left his collections to the University but gave his wife life-tenure and the right to sell; in 1949, Ethel Bliss Platt deposited this relief as a loan; she waived her tenure to the relief in 1962. See curatorial files for further information
