The painting, owned by the Vatican Museums, is a second and smaller version of the Pietà displayed at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The two works are copies of a painting by Delacroix that Van Gogh was familiar with through a lithographic print. This version was probably done as a gift for his sister. The work is particularly important because it is one of the few religious paintings done by Van Gogh. 

• Inaccurate colors due to a varnish applied after the execution of the work
• Great discrepancies in the color tonalities
• In some places, the pigments are missing entirely
• Presence of lacune, especially along the right side, probably due to a fold in the canvas

• Laboratory studies
• Photographic documentation before, during, and after the restoration
• Removal of the varnish
• Cleaning of the pictorial surface
• Stuccoing and touch-up of the lacune concentrated on the right-hand side of the canvas
• Study for a new wooden frame
• Study for the proper way to display and maintain the conservation of the work