>>100595063Anon Education Time:
That pose, called the Pietà, comes from one of the three classic depictions of the Virgin Mary during the Lamentation of Christ (the mourning over Jesus's dead body before the Resurrection). The most famous version of the Pietà is probably the sculpture by Michelangelo (see image).
However, strictly speaking the Pietà refers to depictions of Mary with Jesus alone. When they are surrounded by other figures, as in the famous image from Crisis on Infinite Earths, the correct term is a Lamentation.
