This thesis considers Michelangelo’s final work, the Rondanini Pietà, which contains an upright Jesus supported from behind by Mary. The Pietà depicts the apocryphal moment following the Crucifixion when Christ was removed from the cross and placed in Mary’s embrace. The most interesting aspect of the Rondanini Pietà is that it was sculpted, destroyed, and reconstructed in distinct phases. In one of these phases, the body of Christ was destroyed, only to be re-created from the marble “flesh” of Mary. This research builds on the idea of John Paoletti that Mary’s figure was preceded by Nicodemus and a self-portrait of the artist. Studying the sculptural phases as an intentional part of the process adds great insight into the devotional quality of the work. The traces of revisions, including the pivotal change in character from Nicodemus to Mary, explain the very act of sculpting as a meditative process whereby Michelangelo engaged devotionally with the narrative of Christ’s death and anticipated “rebirth” from the tomb. Through the figures of Nicodemus and Mary, Michelangelo could mystically participate in various levels in the re-creation of Christ: the “medium” of salvation.