Pietà

The young Michelangelo carved in marble the Pietà between 1497 and 1500, having received a commission from the French Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas (ca. 1430–1499). Although the sculpture is one of the early works by Michelangelo, its elegant composition and the virtuosity of the carving reflects a mature sculptor’s skill. The cardinal commissioned the marble sculpture for his own tomb and the finished work was placed in the Saint Petronella Chapel of the Saint Peter Cathedral; in the 18th century it was moved into one of the first chapels of the basilica. The Museum commissioned the plaster cast of the Pietà in 1906 from August Gerber in Cologne, and the copy was exhibited in the Michelangelo Room in 1909. This plaster cast is installed in Kecskemét at the House of Science and Technology since 1976, together with other fourteen plaster casts after Michelangelo’s statues.