Pieta
ArtistAttributed to the
Master of the Academia Annunciation
(Italian, active 14th century)
Dateabout 1380
Mediumegg tempera and gold leaf on panel
Dimensionspanel, 37.1 x 29.5 cm (14 5/8 x 11 5/8 in.)
framed, 55.4 x 47.8 x 4.9 cm (21 13/16 x 18 13/16 x 1 15/16 in.)
framed, 55.4 x 47.8 x 4.9 cm (21 13/16 x 18 13/16 x 1 15/16 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineGift of Margery Williams Adams
Object number2012.83
Label TextThis painting raises many questions. The attribution came from the scholar Richard Offner, who connected a number of works with artistic similarities to a painting in the Accademia in Florence. The artist’s identity, however, is still under debate. The treatment of the subject matter is also a curiosity. The Man of Sorrows became popular in Europe in the 1200s, a devotional subject meant to stir viewers’ emotions by emphasizing the physical effects of Christ's wounds. In a less conventional take on the subject, the artist of this painting has placed Christ into the arms of a woman: her red garment implies that she is Mary Magdalene, but the stars on her cloak typically symbolize the Virgin Mary.ProvenancePrivate collection in Pittsfield, MA (according to Bernard Berenson, 1932); to collector Frank Channing Smith, Jr., Worcester, MA (about 1932); to his niece Margery Williams [Mrs. George Carlisle] Adams, Charlotte, NC (1952)On View
Not on view
