Tuesday, April 11, 2017
The Trinity Pieta
Everyone has seen pictures of the famous Michelangelo Pieta, representing the grieving Mary holding Jesus' body. There are many other pietas, different artists' version of the same theme. However we forget that Jesus also had a Father. This image is a detail of a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1472-1553. I have always liked it, because it portrayed God the Father as a father. It is hard to see in this small image, but his eyes are grief-stricken, looking straight out. His cheeks are furrowed with tears. The body of Jesus is not the buff, perfect physique portrayed by Michelangelo or Raphael, but frail and thin, acquainted with poverty. This is not the image of an implacable God who demanded the sacrifice of his Son, but a father heartbroken by grief. The incarnation has cost God greatly.