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Archive photograph of the previous version: marble group: the seated Virgin holds the body of Christ across her lap.

Previous version1498–1499

A marble Virgin, face lowered, holds across her lap a sleeping young man in a hoodie, joggers and trainers, a glass bottle in his hand.

Current version2026

Michelangelo, Pietà, St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican

Photo: Jebulon, via Wikimedia CommonsLicence CC0Image source

Acc. no. GLI.2026.012 112

Pietà

The Virgin Mary as Mother of Sorrows.

At the GLiTCH Museum, Department of Contemporary Antiquities.

Carrara marble, cotton fleece, glass, patience.

Next version Carrara marble, life size.

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Catalogue entry

Record GLI.2026.012
Work 12 of 13

Materials depicted
Carrara marble, cotton fleece, glass, patience.
Provenance
A bus stop, one Sunday, a little before five in the morning. She came to fetch him.
Condition report
Good. He is asleep. She keeps watch.
Restoration
In 2026, the conservation studio removed a commercial logo and a label from the trainers, at the request of the legal department. Nothing else was touched.
Related work
Michelangelo, Pietà, 1498–99, St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.

Commentary

Michelangelo was twenty-three when he began the Vatican Pietà in 1498, for the tomb of a French cardinal. It is the only work he ever signed, on the sash across the Virgin’s breast: according to Vasari, he did so after overhearing visitors attribute it to someone else.

He was criticised for giving the Virgin a younger face than her son’s.

Here, a mother holds a young man. He is breathing. Her gaze does not judge: it waits.

Previous version

Michelangelo, Pietà, 1498–1499, marble, St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican. She has held him like this since 1499.

Photo: Jebulon, via Wikimedia CommonsLicence CC0Image source

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References2 references

Digital composition by Aël, updated with the help of artificial intelligence. Glitch: original.