If I were a betting man, I would say that this translation by Jessie Lemont of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Pieta” was inspired by The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

Normally, all references to Michelangelo’s statue would be that the Virgin Mary was holding her son, after his crucifixion.

But, the idea that it could be Mary Magdelene, instead, holding her platonic lover’s body, seems to be hinted at by how young she appears.

Was Michelangelo trying to tell us something, too?

What do you think?