Pieta. Moder med en falden søn 1923 - 1926

Rasmus Harboe made this Pieta sometime in the 20th Century from bronze. It's all about process, the way the mother's hands are tenderly placed on her fallen son, you can see the marks of the artist's hands in the clay. I love how Harboe embraces the physicality of the medium. It's not polished or refined, but raw and expressive. The surface is rough, almost as if it's been weathered by time, and those folds in her dress, like deep canyons carved by emotion. You can almost feel the weight of her grief in the way she holds him. There's something about the way his hand is clenched there on the earth that makes it feel like he's still connected to the world. It reminds me a little of Rodin, you know, the way he captures the human form in all its vulnerability. Ultimately, it's the ambiguity of art that keeps us coming back for more.