Iconography of the Pieta

                     ICONOGRAPHY OF THE PIETA.

          The Pieta statue by the renaissance sculptor Michael Angelo completed in (1499), which resides in St Peters basilica in Rome, is one of the most revered and iconographic works of Western Art. Even for the non-believer or for those who practise religious faiths other than Christianity, the work has the power to evoke feeling of reverence and contemplation in the viewer. The Pieta inhabits a building that by the very nature of its design and construction was created to produce feelings of awe and wonder for those who entered it. Within its walls the viewer was would see works of art within   

Architecture that would create an aura of devotion and reverence.

It could reasonable be argued that even in what has been described as a post Christian age these works of art still have the power to create feelings as described above to present day visitor to St Peters basilica.

         A very casual investigation of present day culture of present day visual culture, provides many present day examples of imagery that have very close iconographical links with the symbolism of the Pieta, some of these links are of an accidental nature and many are created and designed to create these very definite connotations.

History of the pieta in Northern Europe.

The Pieta is one three common representation of the Virgin Mary ,the other two being Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows) and Stator Mater(Here Stands The Mother). The Pieta originated in Germany where it was called the Vesperbild around 1300 it reached Italy around 1400. 1 Bohemian Pieta 1390 -1400. 2nd Austrian Pieta 1420.3rd.Cologne Pieta 15th century.4th Swabian Pieta 1500.

Boris.Zaborov

Boris Zaborov.Philippe B P Bonafoux.2007.Milano.Skira.Zaborov pictures are described by author as...fragments of life,splinters of existence seized as though by chance at a time of the non-event.               Zaborov uses old photographers to create his paintings, they inhabit no discernible space like Byzantium icons,we are made to observe both image and surface texture all at once.When describing his photographic sources Zaborov states " Of all the very different things that surround us,old photographs from family albums are what unsettle my imagination the most. They have a hypnotic power. People whose lives I know nothing gaze apon me from the distance of their past. Over powering me with their secret life...".

Kathe Kollwitz .

Kollwitzs work could be described as socialist propaganda, but as Carl Ziggrosser points out in his book on the artist, propaganda will only endure as art ,if the artist speaks purely in terms of his or hers art,if their allegiance is not to party but to humanity, if the issues are the eternal verities of death,suffering,love and children.It will be a work of art only if it's appeal is timeless and universal.Emotions are timeless and do not change,humans are of infinite shadings and varieties.No one can give a complete picture of all or even one category.Kollwitz dealt with them in terms of function  eg motherhood ,peasant etc.

Kate Shepherd.

This artist uses enamel and other industrial support.The artist uses very thin lines to suggest dynamic drawings,the work implies a sense of space,which can be shallow or deep.Sheppard uses architectural  drafting programs to create her drawings.The artist uses rich primary colours and line to give a sense of movement.

Morris Louise

Louise was one of the early pioneers of colour field paintings, and had close associations with the school of painting described as Abstract Expressionism. Louise explored the ideas and concepts of what actually constitutes our perceptions of what a painting is, as a visual physical item. The artist believed that before anything else painting is the art of surface manipulation. The chief feature of the paintings surface is its flatness, and that this feature distinguishes painting from other art forms. Louise used a technique that involved staining the canvas by pouring paint onto unprimed canvas, and letting it run. The act of staining into the surface eliminated any three dimensional qualities inherent in the paint. Louise described how his pouring technique had a clear intent that had a chaotic effect.

Katherine Grosse

Artist uses secondary and primary colours .paints on varied surfaces using blending.