Mary at the foot of the cross

Most images with Mary at the foot of the Cross is supposed to elicit an emotional response. Mary is witnessing the death of her beloved son and the artist wants to convey her feelings to the audience. “Mary's presence at the foot of the cross provided medieval writers with a compelling perspective from which to relate the horrors of the crucifixion. Using the figure of Christ's mother, they invited their audience to imagine his sufferings through her eyes, constructing a powerful literary model of compassionate devotion that was designed to produce an emotional response in readers and listeners.” [1] These types of works came about due to a new form of piety based off of compassion towards Jesus’ and Mary’s suffering.