Source: WTL course images archive.
Comments: This polychrome statue is one of Aleijadinho's versions of the Pietà (i.e., Mary cradling the dead body of her son Jesus (Christ) on her lap. Here one sees all of the traditional elements of the Pietà: Mary's blue robes and head scarf, the wounds on the body's side, hands, forehead. In addition, we see a halo around Mary's head, and we experience drama, tension, energy, power, even in the depiction of a lifeless body. Look, for example, at how Mary's face is depicted. On the right we see part of an angel. What we see here is not Renaissance elegance and simplicity; on the contrary, it is quintessentially Baroque.