Art and faith? All are welcome to answer....?

Question

I was born of a group of scientific minds. My parents never gave me any religious instruction. And yet, when I see The Pieta, (see this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0_(Michelangelo) ) I am stricken with an inexplainable pain. My heart grieves at the look on Mary's face. My soul screams at the utter horror of losing a son (I have a two year old son.)

My question is this: What does this mean? Am a simply a mother, sympathizing with another mother's loss? Or is this divine in nature? Why do I hurt so much when I see this statue?

Answer 1

The Pieta is an incredibly beautiful piece of work.

I believe the image appeals to your maternal instincts and feelings.

Answer 2

If you were so moved by Michelangelo's art, then he did his job well. Good art is supposed to evoke some kind of emotion.

Answer 3

Only you can answer that question.... it is a beautiful, sad statue.  Some pieces of art just resonate with us for reasons we can never wholly understand.  There is a look on the face of of one of the women in Gaugin's Tahiti series that haunts me.  It's art - that is what it is supposed to do.  The guy crucifying frogs over in Italy should take some notes.

Answer 4

You're appreciating good art...that's what art is supposed to do.  And let's face it, Michelangelo was one of the best. Some people get the same feeling from a certain song, some from a painting.

Answer 5

It is both a connection on the human level and divine.  The human, obviously, because you have that connection of motherhood.

But the divine is from the sacrifice.  Mary knew what would happen to her son.  Jesus knew it also.  But they both knew Jesus had to die, so that we could get to heaven.

The sacrifice is truly touching, on many levels.  But Jesus even said "No greater love is there than this--for a man to lay down his life for his friends"

If you look at the story of Jesus as a story, it is a strange story.  A man, who teaches great things, claims to be the son of the One and True God.  But, he doesn't come down as a general, a rich king or a wizard.  He came down to serve us.  He came down to offer his life for us.

It is very touching to think that such an all powerful being would love us and sacrifice himself for us.

If nothing else, it is a very touching story...

But, there's more.  It was presented as truth, and written by people who were actually there.  The claim is that this is no fictional story, but truth.  And the story is so crazy--that it just might be true.

And if it is, then you have just stumbled across on of the greatest cosmic mysteries of all time.

All from a glance at a statue.  Jesus, shouted through time, to you.  Amazing.

Answer 6

I felt similar when I saw the Passion of The Christ. But it was not because it was some religious epiphany, it was horror and dismay at the realization of human cruelty and sadness. Its human nature to feel like that.  

Answer 7

You just feel sympathy because you as a normal human don't like seeing someone suffer

Remember after all it's just a painting.

Answer 8

You answered your own question. You are a mother sympathizing with another mother's loss. Also, as the first answerer stated: You are a human being who does not like to see the suffering of another.

Feeling this type of pain is a good thing. It teaches  you to be sympathetic  to others who are hurting.