Thought For The Day
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
I have a miniature replica of it. I have zero artistic ability but this is for my money’s worth the great piece of art man has ever fashioned. Everything else is fighting for second place.
Background: When the statue was damaged several years ago, they were able to restore it from a perfect plaster cast that had been taken.
I was at the Vatican several years ago. The Pieta is too far away and too crowded to get a good look at. I mean, it’s still amazing, but you don’t get the time or proximity you’d want. But the plaster cast is in the Vatican Museums, and you can get within 3 feet of it.
After it was completed there was talk that it was made by another sculptor Cristoforo Solari. Which is why Michelangelo then went and carved his signature on Mary’s sash. The only time he signed his work.
The proportions which Michelangelo used for Our Lady to cradle Jesus in her lap meant that if Mary was much larger in comparison ie. if she were standing she would be around 9 feet tall. Likewise, Jesus is much smaller in comparison. This is what Michelangelo did intentionally to achieve the gracefulness of Mary cradling Her Son in Her lap.
It is a masterpiece. The drapery itself is perfect.
We saw it at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. I was ten. You stood on a moving conveyor belt and rode past the statue, about ten feet away, as I dimly recall. You had to wait in line for a LONG time before seeing it.
After it was completed there was talk that it was made by another sculptor Cristoforo Solari. Which is why Michelangelo then went and carved his signature on Mary’s sash. It’s the only time he has signed his work.
The proportions which Michelangelo used for Our Lady to cradle Jesus in her lap meant that if Mary was standing she would be 9 feet tall. Similarly Jesus is proportionally smaller. Michelangelo did this to achieve the gracefulness of Jesus cradled in Our Lady’s lap.
It’s incredible – the light drapery, the composition, the serenity and reverence it evokes. If you imagine there is no room for error with sculpting- with a painting you can work it over and over to get it right but if you chip off a piece in a sculpture you can’t put it back. Michelangelo’s talent was truly inspired by God. The Pieta is in a class of its own.
Excuse the multiple comments. I rewrote it when it didn’t publish. You can remove one of them 🤦🏻♀️
I can’t comprehend doing any sculpture, much less this one.
Michelangelo said that his sculptures existed in the marble and he merely chiseled away the extraneous bits. Possible for him, impossible for almost all the rest of us.
My maternal grandparents saw it on their tour of Europe. It was attacked and damaged moments after viewing it.
My father was on an inspection trip throughout NATO summer of 1960. With my mother budgetting and my grandmother adding the transportation costs, the family was able to go along. My father and his brothers were in the European theater during WW II so he took us to the beaches of D Day and battle fields and walled cities. My grandmother was an artist and my mother was a fine arts major so they planned the side trips to museums, churches and shrines.
The Pieta was beautiful but sad. To this day I remember how the marble shone.
At a different venue we saw David. It was impressive at 17 ft. but being kids my brother and I thought he should be wearing pants.