Theological virtues 1 Cor 13, Faith Hope Love
Michelangelo’s Pieta inspires compassion, and is why artist of his time named the Christ Mary motif as Pity or Pieta in Italian. My view, with a more modern perspective, examines this experience as a uplifting Hope. For me, there is a conflicting force of Hope vs Fear that motivates all of us…Pieta Spero (hope) is a new expression of Mother Mary and Jesus as this relates to us; who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection.
This was my goal; to reflect the hope within the Sorrowful Mary; hope that expels fear.
In this fired clay statue; Pieta Spero, we see Mother Mary supporting her son on her knee after his crucifixion. She mourns for him, weeping on the sole of his foot, while our lord embraces both his cross and his mother, providing comfort in the redeeming value of his sacrifice.
Pieta Spero loosely translates from Italian to Hopeful Sorrow, inspirationally drawn from St Paul’s 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 which speaks of Hope in the Resurrection. As well as Paul’s 1 Corinthians 13 were Hope is one of the Theological Virtues. In the Pieta Spero we find Mary’s great Sorrow tempered with Hope.
This was a hugely challenging piece. due to its size. almost 4 feet across. Weighing hundreds of pounds, the whole project had to be rotated, and inverted during the press and release phase… cast from over a dozen sections into a single piece.
Follow me along the whole process with a click.
