Pieta (Bouguereau)

Pieta
Artist	William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Year	1876
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	223 cm × 149 cm (91 in × 59 in)
Location	Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas

Pieta is an 1876 oil painting by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau, depicting the Pieta. It is currently located at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Description

The Pieta is a theme in art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of her son, Jesus, after his crucifixion. In Bouguereau's version, Mary is seen wearing a black cloak holding Christ close to her bosom. Eight angels in mourning form an arc around them, each of them dressed in different colours. One interpretation of this is that the angels are dressed in the colours of the rainbow; an allusion to Noah's ark from the Old Testament. According to the story, a rainbow appeared as a symbol from God that the flood had ended and a new world could be rebuilt. Similarly, in the painting, the rainbow could represent the end of the suffering of Jesus, and a new world for man and God to be reunited.

At the bottom of the painting, a crown of thorns and a white cloth stained with the blood of Christ is depicted. To the right there is an urn with the inscription "IN MEMORIAM DILECTI MEI FILII GEORGII DIE XIX JULII ANNO MDCCCLXXV". This translates to "In memory of my beloved son, Georges, on July 19, 1865"

Background

One of the main inspirations behind this painting was the death of Bouguereau's eldest son, Georges, who passed away when he was sixteen. This is reflected by the theme of the painting, as whilst Mary cradles her dead son in her lap, so too does Bouguereau commemorate his dead son in the painting.