Updated 03 April 2025
On Display Permanent collection
On Display
Pietà
| Date | c. 1876 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on panel |
| Size（cm） | 23 x 16 |
| Inscriptions | Signed lower right: Gustave Moreau |
| Credit Line | Matsukata Collection |
| Standard ref. | Mathieu 148; M810 |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1959-0161 |
While not originally mentioned in the Gospels, the subject of the Pietà, where Mary holds the body of Christ as he is removed from the Cross, became a favorite theme of Catholic art in western Europe. This work overflows with a pious religious sentiment. It can be seen not only as a work by Moreau, but also as a representative image of this subject in modern painting. The dove of the Holy Ghost, Christ, the Virgin Mary, and two angels symbolizing the victory of Christ are skillfully depicted in Moreau's jewel-like, polished precision. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Charity sale for Christian schools, expert: Durand-Ruel, 22 (exhibition), 24, 25 May 1880, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, lot 115 [see records in the Durand-Ruel & Cie Archives, Paris]; Charles Hayem [red wax seal on the reverse: “COLLECTION CHARLES HAYEM”]; Galerie Georges Petit, Paris; purchased from the above by Kojiro Matsukata, Kobe, ca. November 1921 (Fr. 12,000) [see duplicate receipt from Galerie Georges Petit to Kojiro Matsukata, dated 10 November 1921, in Bibliothèque centrale des musées nationaux, Paris (copy in NMWA curatorial file)]; sequestered by French government, 1944; vested in French government under San Francisco Peace Treaty, 1952; transferred from French to Japanese government, 23 January 1959; entered into NMWA, April 1959.
Exhibition History
- 1964
- Gustave Moreau, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 26 November 1964 - 31 January 1965, cat. no. 52, pl.XCV
- 1995
- Gustave Moreau, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 21 March 1995 - 14 May 1995, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 23 May-9 July, cat. no. 44, col. repr.
- 2019
- The Matsukata Collection: A One-Hundred-Year Odyssey: Upon the 60th Anniversary of the NMWA, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 11 June 2019 - 23 September 2019, cat. no. 106, col. repr.
Bibliography
- 1961
- Catalogue du Musée National d'Art Occidental, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1961 (Préface and Catalogue Général in Japanese and French), P-219.
- 1971
- Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1971 (Japanese), no. 58, repr.
- 1975
- Les cent chefs-d'œuvre du Musée National d'Art Occidental. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1975 (Japanese), no. 63, repr.
- 1976
- Mathieu, P. L. Gustave Moreau, sa vie, son œuvre. Paris, 1976, p. 314, no. 148, repr.
- 1978
- Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1978 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 68, repr.
- 1979
- The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo: Catalogue of Paintings. Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, 1979, no. 203, repr.
- 1990
- The Old Matsukata Collection. Kobe City Museum, ed. Kobe, "Matsukata Korekushon Ten" Jikkoiinkai, 1990, cat. no. 1087.
- 1995
- Gustave Moreau (exh. cat.). National Museum of Wetsern Art, ed. Tokyo, NHK, 1995, p. 138, cat. no. 44, col. repr.
- 2018
- The Matsukata Collection: Complete Catalogue of the European Art. Kawaguchi, Masako; Jingaoka, Megumi, eds. vol. 1: Paintings, Tokyo, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2018, cat. no. 810, col. repr.
- 2019
- The Matsukata Collection: A One-Hundred-Year Odyssey (exh. cat.). Jingaoka, Megumi, ed. Tokyo, The National Museum of the Western Art, Tokyo; Yomiuri Shimbun; NHK; NHK Promotions, 2019, pp. 195, 197, 367, cat. no. 106, col. repr.