Pieta

Malcah Zeldis, Pieta, 1973, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.159
Copied Malcah Zeldis, Pieta, 1973, oil on fiberboard, 26 x 22 in. (66.0 x 55.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.159

Artwork Details

Title
Pieta
Artist
Date
1973
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
26 x 22 in. (66.0 x 55.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on fiberboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • State of being — emotion — sorrow
  • Animal — donkey
  • Religion — New Testament — Christ
  • Religion — New Testament — Crucifixion
  • Religion — New Testament — Mary
  • Animal — bird — buzzard
Object Number
1986.65.159
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.159

Artwork Description

Many artists have immortalized the image of Mary holding the dead body of Jesus. Malcah Zeldis is a devout Jewish woman and finds it difficult to explain why she painted this Christian scene: “All I can say is that it was done after I attended a wedding which moved me very deeply. Somehow, very strong feelings were stirred up” (Herbert W. Hemphill, Jr., and Julia Weissman, Twentieth-century American Folk Art and Artists, 1974). Zeldis painted stark contrasts throughout the image to heighten the emotional impact of the scene: Leafless trees reach into the sky like the arms of the crucified, and white clouds fly across the top of the painting like messengers between heaven and earth.