Pietà

Mažeikiai district

The theme of sorrow, expressed in images of the Pieta and Our Lady of Sorrows, is emphasised by a heart with swords. Sometimes there are only swords stuck into the bosom, but no heart. Religious carvers tried to highlight these attributes, and so the heart was usually carved in relief, or as a separate detail, large, and often with a cross cut out on it, surrounded by a painted or carved halo of rays, or represented as burning. Seven swords stuck into the heart mean the Seven Sorrows, and are also highlighted. They often differ in their size and their expressive hilts, as in this work by an unknown Žemaitijan artist. Even without the dead Christ on Mary’s lap, the sculpture expresses her silent and contemplative mourning. This is emphasised not only by the reserved monumentality of her figure, but also by her dark dress with light spots, and the conspicuous three remaining swords.

Text author Skaidrė Urbonienė

Mažeikiai district

The theme of sorrow, expressed in images of the Pieta and Our Lady of Sorrows, is emphasised by a heart with swords. Sometimes there are only swords stuck into the bosom, but no heart. Religious carvers tried to highlight these attributes, and so the heart was usually carved in relief, or as a separate detail, large, and often with a cross cut out on it, surrounded by a painted or carved halo of rays, or represented as burning. Seven swords stuck into the heart mean the Seven Sorrows, and are also highlighted. They often differ in their size and their expressive hilts, as in this work by an unknown Žemaitijan artist. Even without the dead Christ on Mary’s lap, the sculpture expresses her silent and contemplative mourning. This is emphasised not only by the reserved monumentality of her figure, but also by her dark dress with light spots, and the conspicuous three remaining swords.

Text author Skaidrė Urbonienė