Mater Dolorosa

Circa 1674-85
Partial-gilt polychrome wood
Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession # 2014.275.2

The title, "Sorrowing Mother" in English, is given by the museum. The three-dimensional tears and the glass eyes are certainly typical of Hispanic images of the Sorrowing Mother in this era, but the artist has omitted the sword(s) that are usual in this iconographic type. The omission may be explained by his pursuit of what the museum's commentary calls the "naturalism and expressive force" of the sculpture.1

As usual, Mary is pictured in a red robe and blue mantle. The bust is paired with another of the Ecce Homo, seen in the background of this photograph.

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





































1 Peter J. Bell, "Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa," Recent Acquisitions 2014-2016, 39.