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Pietà
Pietà

Pietà

Artist (Inverurie, Scotland, 1856 - 1938)
Date1914
Mediumbronze on red granite
ClassificationsSculptures
DimensionsOverall: Height: 26.5 cm, Width: 13 cm, Depth: 31.5 cm
Plinth Size: Height: 4 cm, Width: 14 cm, Depth: 33 cm
AcquisitionPurchased in 1937.
CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDAG004671
Keywords
About MeThe war years were among James Pittendrigh MacGillivray's most creative and prolific. He initially supported the war at its outbreak in 1914, though he quickly became deeply pessimistic about its effects. A work such as the optimistic, proud La Flandre, the first work he produced at the time, stands in stark contrast alongside works such as Pietà.
The tradition depiction of the Virgin and the dead Christ here also acts as an image of a mother and dead soldier. It may have originally been intended as a war memorial, though nothing appears to have come of the project. MacGillivray echoes Michelangelo's famous depiction of the same subject here, though his handling of the figures is deliberately rough.
More About Me
It's not Mary and Jesus, but an ordinary mother carrying the body of her fallen soldier son.
Exhibitions