UNKNOWN MASTER, German
(active early 15th century)

Pietà

1400-20
Painted wood
Cathedral, Freiberg

The Pietà in the St. Martin's Cathedral in Freiberg belongs to a type of Pietà that, starting in about 1400, emerged in parallel to the 'Schönen Madonnen' (Beautiful Madonnas) and were likewise distinguished by a more refined spirituality. The Virgin's richly folded gown and youthfully beautiful face, with its gentle expression of suffering, reflect courtly taste. The appearance of Christ's dead body is also depicted far less brutally. The incongruous backward loll of his head and the extreme naturalism of the hair are the result of a remodeling of the statue carried out at a later period.