Pietà
noun
a representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of the dead Christ, usually shown held on her lap.
Pietà
American
[pee-ay-tah, pyay-tah, pee-ay-tuh, pyay-]
/ ˌpi eɪˈtɑ, pjeɪˈtɑ, piˈeɪ tə, ˈpjeɪ- /
noun
(sometimes lowercase)
pietà
British
/ pɪɛˈtɑː /
noun
Pietà
Cultural
Discover More
The most famous of four Pietàs by Michelangelo is a sculpture at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
Etymology
Origin of Pietà
1635–45; < Italian: literally, pity < Latin pietās piety; cf. pity
Vocabulary lists containing pieta
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It reported that the Madonna and Christ in Pietà was removed directly from inside a secure display case, while all the paintings taken were on wooden panels, preventing them from easily being rolled up.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The most elucidating superimposes a Pietà by Anne-Louis Girodet, David’s little-known pupil, over David’s “Marat.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 21, 2025
Last year, the local alderman threatened to downzone the church property, reducing its value to developers, and its Pietà had to be moved from the church with a police escort.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2023
“Karyn loves to live in the painting,” someone murmured, seeing the same Pietà in the light of the lamps.
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2023
Pleasant reminiscences of Titian still appear in such work, as in the often-used motif of baby angels; but in the subjects of the Crucifixion and the Pietà, he stands quite apart.
From Van Dyck A Collection Of Fifteen Pictures And A Portrait Of The Painter With Introduction And Interpretation by Estelle M. (Estelle May) Hurll
For Taylor, this outrage from the newspapers becomes a pietà, driven by an intimacy based not on actual acquaintance but rather on personal identification.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 23, 2018
That makes the play’s closing pietà risible when it should be moving.
From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2011
It was painted by Moretto of Brescia, of whom Lanzi truly says that his sacred subjects express la compunzione, la pietà, la carità istessa; and this picture is an instance.
From Legends of the Madonna as Represented in the Fine Arts by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson
Her expression of quiet hopeless grief was admirably suited to the high-bred cast of her features; she would have made a beautiful model for a Zenobia or a classisized type of pietà.
From The Whirligig of Time by Wayland Wells Williams
However, Leo X.'s bull, Inter multiplices, exempts the so-called monti di pietà, and by this means put obstacles in the way of saving, and promoted real usury.
From Principles of Political Economy, Vol. II by Wilhelm Roscher
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