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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
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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
- Keywords
- 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
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.