Penitent Magdalene, Artemisia Gentileschi, 1622-25. Seville Cathedral, Seville, Spain.
Questions
-What do you think this woman is feeling in this painting?
-The colors are incredibly strong and saturated - what do you think they stand for?
-What elements or details do you see in this photo that help you understand how she is feeling?
-Do you like this style of art?
-Knowing it is Mary Magdalene, what part of her life do you think this is? Before she meets Christ, after she meets Him, or after His death?
Reflection
This painting of Mary Magdalene has always touched me quite deeply. This is painted by my favorite artist, Artemisia Gentileschi. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on her and this painting was one of two which I focused on. The entirety of writing my thesis I fell more in love with Artemisia and with Mary Magdalene. My name is derived from Magdalene, but I never had a deep devotion to her until I devoted a whole semester on researching and writing about her. Artemisia is one of the few women painters of the Renaissance/Baroque period that we know the name of and have access to many of her works.
Mary Magdalene is one of the only women mentioned by name in the Gospels of the New Testament. In Mark Chapter 16 it says, “When he [Jesus] had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.” These seven demons were believed to be spirits who disposed her to a lustful, life of a prostitute. Christ preached to her and then she became an ardent follower, rejecting her sensual vanity. I always wonder what moment of her life that Gentileschi is trying to capture here. Is it before she met Jesus and is sorrowful for her sins? Is it after she met Him but she has fallen back into sin or thinks her sins are too great to forgive? Is it after He died and she is in despair? I don't know which one it is but I have found myself in each of those situations in my life. I too have felt sorrow for my sins, sadness over the greatness of my sins, and despair thinking that Jesus will not show up. How many times have I been like Mary, eyes swollen from tears and exhausted from overthinking? Too many to count, but also like Mary, I know the greatness of the Lord.
In John 12:3 it says that “Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” Mary Magdalene focused more on blessing the Lord than using the perfumed oil for other uses. Beside her in the painting is a bottle of oil, reminding us of this encounter she had with Christ. She understood that even though our Lord is a humble man, He deserves the highest of praises. Her hair is one of the first things that pops out to me in this painting. It it so beautifully curled and in the painting she seems to hold it with her hand. This hair was the same hair that washed Christ’s feet with her tears and oil. What am I able to grasp onto that reminds me of God's power and presence in my life? There are so many memories, signs, symbols, people and more that remind me of His goodness and love if I only remember.
Mary Magdalene represents both action and contemplation that is important to the Catholic faith. She is a figure of faith without doubting. She both sat at Christ's feet listening to his teaching but also ran to His tomb, witnessed the resurrection and was the Apostle to the Apostles. The unknown light source causes me to reflect on the light of Christ burning within her while she contemplates and searches her soul. This is a great example of the visionary that is Mary Magdalene as the melancholic seer, knowing the depths and weight of her sin but the light of the Lord. I lean towards being melancholic a fair amount of the time, so I really identify with being stuck in my own head about things of the past and worries of the future. Mary Magdalene had truly miraculous moments and interactions with the Lord, it must have been so difficult when she would fall back to old tendencies and ways. This reflection is important but only if it leads us closer to the Lord's heart and not into sadness and despair. We must not separate ourselves from Him when all He desires is our closeness. We can continually witness His Resurrection when we choose to see the death of our life in sin in light of His Glory and of our final end with Him in Heaven.
Information
Artemisia Gentileschi is my favorite artist and holds a dear place in my heart. She lived from 1593-1653 in Italy. Her artistic style was fairly consistent throughout her lifetime but showed great influence from the world around her. Artemisia would have first learned the trends and styles of the time from her father. Orazio was greatly impacted by Caravaggio, the great Baroque painter. His work and style reflected the powerful chiaroscuro and tenebrism of the Baroque master and therefore impacted the training and future career of Artemisia. The influence of Caravaggio would not have been direct to Artemisia, but an understanding through her father’s work. Her work quickly turned and excelled past her father’s in naturalism, skill, talent, and production. Artemisia create paintings that was more realistic, in tune with the style of the time, and captured the womanly body better than her father. He revered her to the quality of her work from early on in her career. There was a “refined and elegant linear precision” to her work along with a “sensitive manipulation of chiaroscuro." Chiaroscuro was an artistic tool and style of using shadows and light to create depth in paintings. The shadows obscure most of the background but there can still be seen an impression of a wall on the left side of the painting. The shadow also makes the skull tucked behind the mirror more foreboding.
Artemisia is extremely gifted in her tenebrism style. Tenebrism is derived from the Italian word ‘tenebroso’ which means dark and obscuring. The background is completely dark, except for the red drapery in the upper right corner. The darkness is cut through by illumination from an unknown source, highlighting the main focus of the piece. Although this illumination could seem unnatural, Gentileschi does it in a way that renders the narratives in a believable manner. The details of the compositions lend themselves to the details of the stories, making every aspect of her compositions something to be taken note of. The background is completely black, forcing the viewer to pay attention only to Mary Magdalene and her experience. In this painting, she is slumped backwards, obviously alive but preoccupied with things not of this world. Mary Magdalene is obviously disheveled and slightly slumped in her chair, with her head resting on her hand. Her dress is slipping off her shoulder and the viewer can imagine it falling further. She is lost in deep thought and sorrow and cannot attend to the dress or even discourage others from looking at her lustfully. She is completely vulnerable to the world and onlookers. Her shoulder showing was interpreted by slight provocativeness, which lead to the addition of the brown scarf by a later painter. This addition was found only by scientific analysis of the painting, which shows the difference in paint quality and time it was painted.
This painting was acquired in Rome by the Duke of Alcala, who was the Spanish ambassador to the Holy See. The duke was in Rome between July 1625 and February 1626. Her work of the 1620s was impressive due to her quick adjustment to the local taste of the time. The Duke and Spain were large patrons of Gentileschi in this time period that she was in Rome. Her painting for a male patron from a different country produced a very different kind of painting. It shows her ability to cater to the patron’s stylistic desires and see into the expectations of what type of commission they want. Although it is a different style, it is still a masterpiece and reflective of her other works.
More Questions
-How do you identify with Mary Magdalene?
-Why is it important to have female artists painting female figures?
-What is weighing on your heart right now? How can you remember Christ's Resurrection in that situation?
-Who or what reminds you of the Lord's mercy and loving presence?
-What habitual sins could the Lord desire to cast out of us so that we may be more fully united with Him?
Let us pray -
Lord, I desire to pour out the greatest of my gifts and goods for you. Grant me the opportunity to serve you and others in the way that you desire. Help to me see my sins as harming you and assist me in turning my back against the darkness. Show me your forgiving and loving kindness so that I may learn virtue and goodness and turn away from my sin and vices. Mother Mary, comfort us in the grief of our sins and lead us in the way of grace.
St. Mary Magdalene, pray for us!
Amen.
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