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The Deposition

Michelangelo · 1547-1555

A late marble group by Michelangelo showing the dead Christ supported by Mary, Mary Magdalene and a hooded figure thought to be his self-portrait.

Michelangelo carved this deeply personal late work, giving his own features to one of the figures, for what he intended as his own tomb.

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Marble sculpture on a dark plinth against a grey wall. An elderly hooded figure stands behind, supporting a limp nude male body across the lap of a kneeling figure. A standing woman in drapery stands at left, bracing the body's arm.
Michelangelo, The Deposition (Bandini Pietà), 1547-1555. Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence.

About this source

What it is

Also called the Bandini Pietà or Florentine Pietà, this marble group was carved by Michelangelo between 1547 and 1555. It shows the dead body of Jesus Christ supported by Nicodemus (or possibly Joseph of Arimathea), the Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene. It is held in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence.

Why it matters

According to the writer Vasari, Michelangelo made this for his own tomb, working at night by a single candle in his old age. He gave the hooded figure his own features, a rare self-portrait. He later damaged parts of the statue and abandoned it, after which another sculptor, Tiberio Calcagni, restored it for its new owner. The ambiguous identity of the hooded figure and the scene itself - deposition, pietà, or entombment - has been debated ever since, revealing how personal and troubled this late work was for Michelangelo.

Look closer

  • Why might Michelangelo have given his own face to one of the figures?
  • What clues in the pose or missing parts suggest the statue was damaged and later restored?
  • Why do historians still disagree about exactly which Biblical moment is shown?

This sculpture is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Michelangelo Buonarroti on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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