Pietà Altarpiece: Detail, the Pietà

Castile, 15th century
Tempera and gold on wood, with engaged frame
Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession # 41.190.27

Most examples of this image type include just Mary and Christ, but some add the cross and/or followers of Jesus – in this case, St. John the Evangelist on the left and St. Mary Magdalene on the right.

Mary's red robe and blue mantle are traditional. It is also traditional to picture John as a beardless youth. In portraits and in Crucifixion images Mary Magdalene is almost always bare-headed. Otherwise, the imagery is conventional: Mary in her red robe and blue mantle, John a beardless youth, Mary with her ointment jar.

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Photographed at the museum by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.