TCV Roundtable Blog

100 Greatest Women On Coins Series: La Pieta, By Michelangelo

One of the largest marble statues sculpted by one of the most famous artists throughout history is at the center of today’s blog following along with Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Women on Coins series. With guidance from author Ron Guth, we will go through the backstory of this important piece of art and the woman at the center of it.

#76 – La Pietà, By Michelangelo

Sculpted by Italian artist Michelangelo between 1498 and 1499 AD, La Pietà is a large marble statue featuring the Virgin Mary with her dead son’s body, Jesus, on her lap after his crucifixion. The statue showcases the incredible agony in her face, hence the meaning of pietà, which means pity or compassion in Italian. Michelangelo was commissioned by French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères to sculpt the statue for his funeral monument in the Chapel of Santa Petronilla in Rome. That chapel was destroyed during the reconstruction of St. Peter’s Basilica, and it is now where...read more