The most famous rendition of The Pieta is by Michelangelo, and resides at St. Peter's in Vatican City. Viewed by millions of worshippers through the centuries, it was damaged by a hammer-wielding vandal in 1972. After restoration, the marble statue was enclosed in a shatter-proof glass enclosure that could only be viewed from a distance. Most good images today come in the form of professional photographs available in printed documentaries.
One such black and white photo became the inspiration for the stained glass Pieta at St. Catharine of Siena. This is a good example of what artists refer to as "derivative work" in which one artwork inspires and informs another, many times in a different medium.
