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Source Description

The body of Christ, his head illuminated by a halo of light, rests on the lap of the seated Virgin. St. John supports it under the right shoulder with his right hand. The left foot is held my Mary Magdalene, who is about to wipe her tears with a cloth. Behind are other holy women and the cave. At the left, Nicodemus holds the vase of myrrh and aloes. In the background the tau-shaped cross rises on Golgotha, a skull and bone at its foot. In the distance under a cloudy sky are the pinnacles of Jerusalem. The Pietà shows by its composition and also by its facial characteristics that a model by Jean Pénicaud I was used. Similar Pietàs from the Pénicaud workshop were made to be inserted into paxes. Paxes went in pairs, since they were presented to the congregation to be kissed, simultaneously on the Gospel side of the church and on the side of the Epistle.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
22768
label
Pietà
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
22768
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Pietà
description
The body of Christ, his head illuminated by a halo of light, rests on the lap of the seated Virgin. St. John supports it under the right shoulder with his right hand. The left foot is held my Mary Magdalene, who is about to wipe her tears with a cloth. Behind are other holy women and the cave. At the left, Nicodemus holds the vase of myrrh and aloes. In the background the tau-shaped cross rises on Golgotha, a skull and bone at its foot. In the distance under a cloudy sky are the pinnacles of Jerusalem. The Pietà shows by its composition and also by its facial characteristics that a model by Jean Pénicaud I was used. Similar Pietàs from the Pénicaud workshop were made to be inserted into paxes. Paxes went in pairs, since they were presented to the congregation to be kissed, simultaneously on the Gospel side of the church and on the side of the Epistle.
provenance
Jacques Seligmann, Paris, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1910, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1535-1540 (late Renaissance)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Enamels
paxes
plaques
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
13.7
height
11.8
dimensionsRaw
H: 5 3/8 x W: 4 5/8 in. (13.7 x 11.8 cm)
Source extras
med
painted enamel on copper
creator_ids
17024
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
1e8056389e12b30d