The pieta is an image of devotion which was common throughout medieval Europe: the dead body of Christ is lying horizontally across his mother’s knees, who is gazing at him in grief. Through its meaning and iconography, this theme is closely associated with the Christ of Pity, of which it seems to be a development.
The Virgin’s dress is Gothic in style. The cloak is arranged in structured drapes with harsh, angular folds. The white wimple is specifically Venetian in style.
The reticulations of the rock, which may refer to Golgotha here, act as a throne for the Virgin and are in keeping with the style of Andreas Pavias and Nicolas Tzafouris. The composition is framed by two flying angels.
These elements as a whole are characteristic of the Creto-Venetian pieta of this era.
R. Z.
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