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Pietà

1864
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 552
Carpeaux here demonstrates an enduring admiration for the plangent heroism of Michelangelo, evinced earlier in the famous Ugolino and his Sons, conceived during his study years in Rome, of which the Metropolitan owns the marble finished in 1867. The government of Napoleon III kept Carpeaux busy with official projects, involving decorative sculpture and portraiture, but it is clear from the evidence of the private moments that he occasionally seized to sketch sacred subjects, as here, that he would have been one of the most powerful of all religious artists had he been freer to exercise this repertory. Mounding the clay pellets and pressing them into shape in mere seconds, his entire attention is on the Virgin Mary's maternal embrace, to the virtual exclusion of Christ's legs. A related drawing in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes, is dated 1864.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pietà
  • Artist: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (French, Valenciennes 1827–1875 Courbevoie)
  • Date: 1864
  • Culture: French, Paris
  • Medium: Terracotta
  • Dimensions: Overall: 11 7/16 x 7 1/16 x 5 15/16 in. (29.1 x 17.9 x 15.1 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Assunta Sommella Peluso, Ada Peluso, and Romano I. Peluso Gift, in memory of Ignazio Peluso, 2001
  • Object Number: 2001.199
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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79. Pietà, Part 1

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More Artwork

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Boy crying, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Cast terracotta, French, Paris
Boy crying
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
1870–72
Model for the Watteau Fountain, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Patinated plaster, French
Model for the Watteau Fountain
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
ca. 1867–68
Study for the Ugolino Group, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Graphite
Study for the Ugolino Group
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
19th century
Bacchante with vine leaves, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Terracotta; marble base, French
Bacchante with vine leaves
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
ca. 1872–75
Scene in a Tavern at Civita Vecchia, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux French, Pen and black ink on blue paper
Scene in a Tavern at Civita Vecchia
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
1858

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