From December 12th, 2025 to January 18th, 2026, the MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome presents Robert Wilson. Mother, a powerful installation by the legendary American director and visual artist. Conceived as Wilson’s final completed work, the project brings together theatre, visual art, and music in a meditative encounter inspired by Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini.
Robert Wilson: a final work between light, sound, and stillness
Created shortly before Robert Wilson’s death in July 2025, Mother is not a narrative performance but a durational installation that unfolds through light, space, and sound. At its core stands a historic plaster cast of the Pietà Rondanini, commissioned in 1953 from renowned restorer Cesare Gariboldi. Rather than illustrating a religious story, Wilson distills the sculpture’s emotional essence, focusing on the universal experience of maternal grief, compassion, and endurance.
The installation is enveloped by Arvo Pärt’s Stabat Mater, whose restrained vocal and string composition deepens the atmosphere of contemplation. Carefully choreographed lighting transforms the sculpture over time, allowing viewers to experience shifts in perception rather than dramatic action.
Pietà Rondanini: from Milan to Rome
The project was first conceived and presented in Milan, within the former Spanish Hospital at Castello Sforzesco, where Michelangelo’s unfinished Pietà Rondanini is permanently housed. For its Roman presentation, the MAXXI gallery is completely darkened and reimagined as an abstract reconstruction of that historic space, faithfully translating the original setting into a new architectural and sensory context.
This careful spatial recreation anchors the work in its place of origin while allowing it to resonate within a contemporary museum environment.
The installation experience
Lasting approximately 25 minutes per cycle, Mother guides visitors into a concentrated state of attention, where time seems suspended. Movement is minimal, yet the experience feels deeply immersive, shaped by the dialogue between sculpture, light, and sound. Alongside the installation, a selection of original drawings by Robert Wilson, created during the development of the project, offers insight into his visual thinking and creative process.
We invite you to read our interview with Robert Wilson, in which he discusses truth in performance, the body as a language and theatre as a living dialogue. Conducted shortly before his death, this conversation offers a rare insight into Wilson’s lifelong enquiry.
