The painting depicts the Lamentation (expression of great sorrow or deep sadness)[2] over Christ’s death.

The Virgin Mary sits vertically with the dead Christ on her lap, his body appearing extremely small.

The positioning of the two bodies creates the Pieta, which means pity in Italian and is a representation of The Virgin Mary mourning dead Christ.

Sandro Botticelli was a second generation Renaissance painter born Allesandro di Mariano Filipepi in 1445.

Additional famous works by Botticelli include Birth of Venus , Primavera, and The Mystical Nativity.