I MUST geek out to this sculpture. I never understood how impactful art can be until I visited this work of art.

This sculpture is called La Pietá, crafted by this guy you may have heard of, Michelangelo, you know, the dude who PROBABLY felt the world’s WORST neck-ache after painting the ceiling of Sistine Chapel, The Creation of Adam.

This sculpture shows Mother Mary holding a dead Jesus, and it represents pity or sorrow as a mother is grieving her dying son that she also holds in her lap.

Just to throw this out there, Michelangelo made this out of a BLOCK OF MARBLE. A cube of rock, if you will. He made skin look like skin on a literal rock. Absolutely insane.

FUN FACTS FOR THE FELLOW NERDS:

1. This is the only work of art that Michelangelo signed because he overheard a viewer mistaking the sculpture for being done by another artist. So he signed it out of spite (badass).

2. There have been multiple ‘Uh-Oh’s’ on this statue and it had to be repaired. Now it’s behind bullet proof glass because The Vatican was #overit

3. Michelangelo was only 23 when he created this masterpiece, what an ambitious young fella!