Mary Magdalene - sometimes the Magdalene - is a figure in Christianity who, according to the Bible, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers. She is said to have witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Within the four Gospels she is named at least 12 times, more than most of the apostles.
In »The Da Vinci Code«, Mary Magdalene played an important role: Jesus’ earthly partner and mother of his children. And even though much of the speculation contained therein doesn’t hit the mark, with this book Dan Brown explained to millions of readers that, in religious matters, woman and the feminine need to be brought back into balance with man. In this way, »The Da Vinci Code« is also an homage to the Goddess.
Here are some of my favorites …
View attachment 420725
Orazio Lomi Gentileschi
(*1563 Pisa, +1639 London)
View attachment 420726»Penitent Mary Magdalene«
about 1626/1628
View attachment 420727
Orazio Lomi Gentileschi
Mary Magdalene In Ecstasy
View attachment 420728
Guido Cagnacci
1601 San Arcangelo di Romagna - 1663 Wien
»Die büßende Maria Magdalena«
after 1659
The Lost Art Project: Batoni’s St. Mary Magdalene
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous allegorical and mythological pictures.
»Die büßende Maria Magdalena« after Pompeo Batoni (Italian, 1708-1787) ST. MARY MAGDALENE oil on canvas 24 by 37.5in., 60 by 93.75cm. The present lot is after Pompeo Batoni`s Saint Mary Magdalene, which formerly hung in the Gemäldegalerie, Dresden. The original was destroyed in World War II, during three Allied bombing raids of Dresden between 13 and 14 February, 1945.The sheltered grotto scene depicts a recumbent Mary Magdalene, with exposed shoulder and chest; hands clasped reading a book propped up by a human skull. Hints of a mountainous landscape in the distance can be seen in the right middle ground and above centre where the rocks part slightly to shine light on the scene. Batoni was influenced by Raphael and was celebrated for his technique, draughtsmanship and reverence for antiquity. Born in Lucca, Batoni studied inRome, where he moved in 1727, setting up a studio and home there in Via Bocca di Leone. From 1735 he received numerous commissions for altarpieces, mythological and historical pictures as well as portraits. Papal commissions ensued and he became curator of the Papal collections. He died in Rome. His work can be found in the collection of the Galleria Borghese, Rome, Uffizi, Florence, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Museo del Prado, Madrid and Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna among others.
View attachment 420729
Pierre & Gilles: »Magdalena«
View attachment 420730
Auguste Rodin: »Christ et la Madeleine«
Auguste Rodin (1840 -1917)
CHRIST AND THE MAGDALEN
Circa 1894
Christ and the Magdalen is one of the rare surviving sculptures inspired by religion in Rodin’s oeuvre, and possibly corresponds to a reworked version of an earlier lost Christ, influenced by Antoine-Augustin Préault (1809-79).
Clinging to this emaciated, suffering Christ, whose overly heavy head seems to have dropped sideways, is a woman, the Magdalen, a figure originally designed for one of the damned souls on The Gates of Hell , who was then used in Meditation , the muse in Monument to Victor Hugo. The present group, which would be translated into marble for Baron Thyssen circa 1905, underscores, as Rilke wrote, “the contrast between the two bodies, imposed by the marble, [which] immediately produces an impression of the boundless sadness emanating from this subject.” The Symbolistic character of the work is enhanced by it, while the sensuality of the female figure distracts the spectator from the subject.
View attachment 420731View attachment 420732
Félicien Rops
There are around thirty works by Félicien Rops covering the width of his oeuvre. His career commenced as an illustrator of the publication L’Uylenspiegel, which he himself set up. Here he published artistic, political and social caricatures in lithography. Like Goya, Rops defended freedom of speech and strived against the moral rigidity of the bourgeoisie and the clergy. He cherished the fact that he was unknown and did not wish to become famous.
View attachment 420733
The Penitent Magdalene is a painting of saint Mary Magdalene by Titian dating to around 1533, signed 'TITIANUS' on the vase to the left. It is now in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
The Penitent Magdalene is a 1565 oil painting by Titian of saint Mary Magdalene, now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Unlike his 1533 version of the same subject, Titian has covered Mary's nudity and introduced a vase, an open book and a skull as a memento mori. Its colouring is more mature than the earlier work, using colours harmonising with character. In the background the sky is bathed in the rays of the setting sun, with a dark rock contrasting with the brightly lit figure of Mary.
And finally an art work based on Hayez:
View attachment 420734
Zephyros
You always choosing fascinating and elaborate photographs themes.
Thanks for another good post.
Top Cat
