This is the Pieta by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. I didn't like it at first but I've come to love it. It's my second favorite Pieta after Michaelangelo's.It's not accurate of course. Jesus must have been in rigor mortis when He was taken down from the cross and his body was covered in blood and open wounds from the scourging. His face must've been disfigured from the beating by the temple servants and later from the Roman soldiers. The face of the Shroud of Turin shows a terribly bruised face, and damaged nose and right cheekbone. His hair would've been soaked with blood and His head should be leaning forward, not back.
The strength of the painting is the emotion it conveys. Look at the expression on Mary's face. The darkness, the grief of the angels and the spent posture of Jesus' body all remind me of the solemness of what that moment must have been like. Jesus' Passion is over. He has been taken from the cross and given to His mother. For the first time in three years He is briefly, her boy again. Her soul has been piereced with a sword of grief. Only the saints can imagine.....