Pietà
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Pietà
Giovanni Battista di Jacopo, known as Rosso Fiorentino
A Pietà is a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ, usually on her lap. The painter Rosso Fiorentino chose to show the scene differently. Mary’s arms are stretched out wide as she falls back in grief, creating an impression of movement that fills the whole width of the scene. The unusual sense of agitation is heightened by the secondary figures with their brightly coloured drapery, and by the body of Christ which seems unnaturally large. This kind of exaggeration is characteristic of the Mannerist style, represented by Rosso among others. King François I admired the Italian Mannerists but the Catholic authorities banned their works, disapproving of their extreme expressiveness.
A royal patron
François I invited Leonardo da Vinci to France in 1515. Fifteen years later, he also extended an invitation to the Italian painter Rosso Fiorentino – one of the artists he wanted to decorate his château at Fontainebleau. The High Constable of France, Anne de Montmorency, a close friend of the king and also an admirer of Italian art, is thought to have commissioned this Pietà from Fiorentino as the coat of arms of the de Montmorency family appears on the two cushions under Christ’s body.