Pietà (Bouguereau)

Pietà
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

Pietà is an oil painting of 1876 by the French artist William-Adolphe Bouguereau, depicting the Pietà. It is in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art.

Description

The Pietà 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 colors. One interpretation of this is that the angels are dressed in the colors of the rainbow, in 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 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 19 July 1865".

Background

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