e group by Michelangelo interprets such a moment for us. The
Italians call the subject the Pieta, which means compassion, but the
name scarcely expresses all the emotions of the mother. She seems
as strong and young as when she brooded over her babe in the Bethlehem
manger. "Purity enjoys eternal youth" was the sculptor's explanation
to those who objected.

[Illustration: THE PIETA. _St. Peter's, Rome._]

Across her capacious, motherly lap lies the slender, youthful figure
of the dead Christ. The head falls back, and the limbs are relaxed in
death. Suffering has left no trace on his face. The nail prints in
hands and feet, and the scar in the side, are the only signs of his
crucifixion. The delicately moulded body is beautiful in repose.

The mother seems to find mysterious comfort in gazing upon her son.
Perhaps his death has opened her eyes to the meaning of his life. If
this is so, she cannot grieve. He has finished the work given him to
do, and death is the beginning of immortality. So sorrow gives place
to resignation. She is again the proud mother. The fond hopes with
which she watched his childhood have been more than fulfilled. She
extends her hand in a gesture which seems to say, "Behold and see."

It is said that certain Lombards, passing through the church where the
Pieta stood, ascribed the work to a Milanese sculptor named Cristoforo
Solari. Michelangelo, having overheard them, shut himself up in the
chapel, and chiselled his name upon the girdle which crosses the
Madonna's breast and supports her flowing garments. His name is not
found on any of his other works, and we can understand why he felt
proud of such a masterpiece. Though made when on the very threshold of
his career, it was never surpassed even in his later years. Some
other artist afterwards designed the two little bronze cherubs who
hold a crown over the Madonna's head. They are quite out of harmony
with the impressive dignity of the figures below.

Michelangelo's early love of Greek sculpture taught him many lessons,
which were worked out in this group. It has, first of all, that
perfect repose which was the leading trait in classic art. There is
nothing strained or violent in the positions. Besides this, the
figures are so arranged that on all sides, as in a Greek statue, the
lines are beautiful and harmonious.

But the subject itself is one which would have been too sad for the
pleasure-loving Greek. To the pagan the thought of death w