Michelangelo’s Pietà is carved from marble, specifically Carrara marble.
Created between 1498 and 1499, the sculpture shows the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus after the Crucifixion. It was commissioned by the French cardinal Jean de Bilhères for a funeral chapel in Old St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Pietà became celebrated for its polished surface, balanced pyramid-shaped composition, and combination of emotional subject matter with idealized beauty. Michelangelo portrayed Mary as youthful, an artistic choice often interpreted through theological ideas about her purity and eternal spiritual youth.
The work is now displayed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. It is the only sculpture Michelangelo is known to have signed: his name appears on the sash crossing Mary’s chest. The Pietà should not be confused with his later unfinished Rondanini Pietà, which is also made of marble.