Röttgen Pietà

Röttgen Pietà. Late medieval Europe. c. 1300–1325 C.E. Painted wood.

• VIRGIN MARY HOLDING DEAD CHRIST IN HER LAP; SUFFERING OF JESUS AND GRIEF OF HIS MOTHER; CHRIST STIFFENED IN DEATH, COVERED IN STREAMS OF BLOOD; VIRGIN CRADLES HIM; MATERNAL ANGUISH; EXPRESSION OF GRIEF; DOES NOT EXPRESSES SERENITY OF OTHER PERIODS; AGONY, DEATH, SORROW; DISFIGUREMENT
• Christ clearly died from the horrific ordeal of crucifixion, but his skin is taut around his ribs, showing that he also led a life of hunger and suffering.
• Pietà statues appeared in Germany in the late 1200s and were made in this region throughout the Middle Ages.
• Röttgen Pietà is made of wood and retains some of its original paint. The Röttgen Pietà is the most gruesome of these extant examples.
• Mary in the Röttgen Pietà appears to be angry and confused. She doesn’t seem to know that her son will live again. She shows strong negative emotions that emphasize her humanity, just as the representation of Christ emphasizes his.
• All of these Pietàs were devotional images and were intended as a focal point for contemplation and prayer. Even though the statues are horrific, the intent was to show that God and Mary, divine figures, were sympathetic to human suffering, and to the pain, and loss experienced by medieval viewers. By looking at the Röttgen Pietà, medieval viewers may have felt a closer personal connection to God by viewing this representation of death and pain.