Röttgen Pietà

Date early 14th Century

Movement Gothic

Housed at Reinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn

This Pietà would have originally been placed upon an altar as an Andachtsbild (contemplation image) to help the individual make a connection with Christ. The figures’ realism is taken to such an extreme that they become abstract—the frail body of Christ is so frail that it appears deflated and puppet-like, while his wounds are incredibly gruesome; muddled paint on both convey brutal, earthly grief.