The "Pieta"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Michelangelo had a remarkable understanding of Mary; in his sculpture, "The Pieta," he shows Mary, eternally young, cradling the body of her dead son, Jesus. The author points out that Michelangelo never intended to create a literal interpretation, but rather to show Mary's transcendence and her ultimate understanding that, without her joy and her loss, the birth and death of her son, there would be no salvation. The paper concludes that one of the biggest lessons of Mary, as depicted in "The Pieta," is that real faith means still believing when reason tells an individual that all hope is gone.

From the Paper:

"Mary's experience is almost incomprehensible. She becomes pregnant in a way completely unintelligible to anyone, but an angel tells her she carries the Son of God -- while she is alone, with no witnesses -- and she believes it. Presumably she has to go to her husband-to-be, Joseph, to tell him she is pregnant -- but still a virgin, never having laid with any man. Apparently, Joseph, demonstrating great faith, also believes her. Then she has to raise this wonderful child who dazzles the rabbis in the temple, knowing that God will take Him back. When he does, Jesus dies a terrible, drawn-out and agonizing death. After his death, we see in "The Pieta" that Mary cradles him in her arms, across her lap."

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