Michelangelo 15th century- Madonna della Pieta 

The scene of the Pietá, in which Christ's body is placed across his mourning mother's knees, is not mentioned in the Bible, but during the middle ages was cited as one of the "Seven Sorrows of the Virgin". The serenity of Michelangelo's interpretation is a departure from the prior tradition. Our deepest feelings are touched by the sight of Christ, as if in death he has again become a child gathered up in his mother's arms. Her expression is mild and contemplative, and the Savior's torso and limbs are smooth, hardly showing the mark of his sufferings. This rendition reflects Michelangelo's training in Renaissance philosophy, based on St. Augustine's teachings, that held that "God is beautiful, beautiful on heaven and earth...beautiful in the arms of his parents...beautiful in leaving this life and in retaking it; beautiful on the Cross, in the tomb, and in heaven (Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms) It was Michelangelo's genius to embody in a sculpture his personal longing for the purity and divinity o God. In this Pietá, where others had seen only tragedy, Michelangelo found immortality.  **serious inquiries only**  private apoointments*