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I think William's question is easier to deal with than Norm's: Mary is a young woman in order to suggest the dead son's old Oedipal desire for her (she was young back then, and now God the Father has punished him with crucifixion; have a look at all those exposed penis images in the mother-and-child paintings, about which Leo Steinberg has written a controversial book titled The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion, 1983).
Norm, I do not see "Mary smiling" in that marvelous Pietà of Michelangelo. I see a mysterious, restrained sadness, as if Mary were obeying her son's command not to mourn, and therefore leaving open the possibility of his resurrection (and resurrection of erection?). In any case, having consulted several printed and online sources, I have found no mention of a smile. Perhaps you could elaborate?
Cheers to the list,
Daniel
On Sep 17, 2011, at 2:47 PM, William Conger wrote:
And then there's the issue of the youth of Mary as depicted by Michelangelo's Pieta. How could such a young woman be the mother of a grown male corpse on her lap?
The presumed naturalism of Michelangelo is really quite abstract and metaphorical.
WC