Rondanini Pieta

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The Rondanini Pieta is Michelangelo Buonarroti's last sculpture which he continued to work on up until the last days before his death in Rome in 1564, just a few weeks before what would have been his 89th Birthday. Carved from a single block of marble, the sculpture depicting the Virgin Mary grieving over the body of Christ stands to a height of 74 inches. Begun in 1552 then abandoned in 1553 Michelangelo would return to the Rondanini Pieta in 1555, and although he would never complete the work, he continued to work on it until his death. Elements of the original design can be seen in Christ's right arm which is no longer attached to his body and in Christ's legs. The rest of the sculpture would continue to evolve throughout the artist's lifetime. A Pierta is a reflection on the theme of the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of Christ, using a sculpture, and Michelangelo worked on several throughout his career. The Rondanini Pieta stands in sharp contract to his early works which featured idealised, robust, Renaissance style representations of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Working on the Rondanini Pieta in the final stages of his life, Michelangelo's sense of his own mortality is conveyed in the frail, thin, elongated representations of Christ and Mary. As he worked on the sculpture, Michelangelo made changes which brought the two figures closer together.