Where can I see Michelangelo's Pietà?

It's in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. Since 1972, it's been displayed behind bulletproof acrylic glass. You can visit it for free when entering the basilica, though security lines can be long. It sits in the first chapel on the right.

Why is there bulletproof glass around the Pietà?

On May 21, 1972, a mentally disturbed geologist named Laszlo Toth attacked the statue with a hammer, striking it 15 times. He broke Mary's nose, part of her eyelid, and her left arm. Restorers used original marble fragments from the damage to repair it. The glass barrier was installed shortly after.

How old was Michelangelo when he carved the Pietà?

Michelangelo carved it between 1498 and 1499, when he was just 24 years old. He sculpted it from a single block of Carrara marble. The finished piece measures 174 cm x 195 cm (about 5 feet 9 inches x 6 feet 5 inches). It's the only work he ever signed: his name is carved across Mary's sash.

Why does Mary look so young in the Pietà?

She looks almost the same age as her son. Michelangelo reportedly said that chaste women maintain their youth longer. Art historians see it as a theological choice: Mary's youthful face represents her spiritual purity rather than physical age. The Renaissance often idealized religious figures this way.

What does 'Pietà' mean?

It's Italian for 'pity' or 'compassion.' The Pietà is a specific scene in Christian art: the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Christ after the crucifixion. Many artists have depicted this subject, but Michelangelo's version is by far the most famous. The tenderness of Mary's expression and the limp realism of Christ's body set it apart.

Where Is Pietà? See It at Vatican Museums

Pietà

by Michelangelo, 1499

StyleRenaissance

Year: 1499
Medium: Marble
Size: 174 cm × 195 cm

Where to See It

Vatican Museums

Vatican City, Vatican City

Permanently housed

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The Artist

Michelangelo

1475–1564

Italian

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Michelangelo sculpted this heartbreaking image of Mary holding the dead Christ when he was only 24 years old. The Virgin appears impossibly young, her face serene despite her grief, while Christ's body drapes across her lap with anatomical perfection. It remains the only work Michelangelo ever signed.

The pyramidal composition draws the eye upward from Christ's lifeless form to Mary's downcast face. Michelangelo polished the marble to an almost luminous finish, particularly on the figures' skin. When critics questioned Mary's youthful appearance, he reportedly said that chaste women retain their youth longer.

The sculpture resides in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, now protected behind glass after a 1972 attack damaged Mary's face and arm.

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