Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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PIETÀ

A general term applied to representations of the dead Christ in art. The Blessed Virgin is usually included. Among the masters who have represented the Pietà, the best known are Bellini, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Dürer, Fra Angelico, Murillo, Raphael, Rubens, Titian, and Van Dyck. The most famous is the Pietà of Michelangelo in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. (Etym. Latin pietas, duty, dutiful, piety, devotion.)