Mary Magdalene, from
an early Christian tradition, is three different women, which either met
or followed Christ, combined: the unnamed sinner who, during a meal at
the house of Simon the Pharisee, smears the Lord’s feet with perfume and
dries them with her hair; Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus,
who joined Jesus’ followers, received him in her house and persuaded him
to raise her brother from the dead; and finally Mary of the town of Mandela,
who was possessed by devils that Jesus exorcised, and who is present both
at the Crucifixion and at the Entombment, and whom Christ graces with his
first appearance as a Redeemer in the episode known as the Noli me tangere.
Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of
prostitutes, hairdressers, perfumers, and of gardeners. In fine art she
is presented with long loose hair; perfume or ointment pot, crown of thorns,
mirror are sometimes also present.
See: Fra Bartolommeo The
Annunciation, with Saints Margaret, Mary Magdalene, Paul, John the Baptist,
Jerome and Francis, God
the Father in Glory with St. Mary Magdalene and St. Catherine of Siena.
Botticelli Holy
Trinity with Mary Magdalene, St. John the Baptist and Tobias and the Angel
(Pala della Convertite).
Caravaggio Penitent
Magdalene, The
Conversion of Mary Magdalene.
Cima da Conegliano. The
Virgin and Mary between St. John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalen.
Carlo Crivelli. St.
Catherine of Alexandria, St. Peter, and Mary Magdalene.
Honore Daumier. St.
Magdalene in the Desert.
El Greco St.
Mary Magdalene.Mary
Magdalen in Penitence. Mary
Magdalen in Penitence. Mary Magdalen
in Penitence with the Crucifix.
Gentile da Fabriano. St.
Mary Magdalene, St. Nicholas of Bari, St. John the Baptist, St. George.
Jean Hey, Master of Moulin.Portrait
Presumed to be of Madeleine of Burgundy Presented by St. Madeleine.
Alexander Ivanov The
Appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene.
Georges de La Tour. Repenting
Magdalene, Repenting Magdalene,
Repenting
Magdalene,
Repenting Magdalene,
Repenting
Magdalene.
Filippino Lippi Mary
Magdalene.
Fra Filippo Lippi The
Adoration with St. Joseph, St. Jerome, Mary Magdalene and St. Ilarion.
Hans Memling St.
John the Baptist and St. Mary Magdalen.
Pietro Perugino. Mary
Magdalene.
Piero della Francesca. St.
Mary Magdalene.
Jusepe de Ribera. The
Penitent Magdalen.
Luca Signorelli. SS.
Catherine of Siena, Mary Magdalene and Jerome. The
Crucifixion with St. Mary Magdalen.
Jan van Scorel. Mary
Magdalene.
Henryk Siemiradzki. Christ
and Sinner. The First Meeting of Christ and Mary Magdalene.
Titian Noli
me tangere.
Madonna and Child with
Mary Magdalene.
Penitent
St. Mary Magdalene.
St.
Mary Magdalene.
Paolo Veronese. Magdalene's
Conversion.
Rogier van der Weyden Deposition.
St. Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and a Servant, Mary
Magdalene, Braque
Triptych. St. Mary Magdalene.
Recommended Reading:
The
Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Jean-Yves Leloup (Editor), Joseph
Rowe (Translator), Jacob Needleman (Preface). Inner Traditions Intl Ltd,
2002.
Mary
Magdalene: Beyond the Myth by Esther De Boer, John Bowden (Translator).
Trinity Pr Intl, 1997.
The
Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha, and the Christian Testament
by Jane Schaberg. Continuum Pub Group, 2002.
The
Woman With the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail
by Margaret Starbird, Terrance A. Sweeney (Introduction). Bear & Co,
1993.
The
Book of Saints: The Lives of the Saints According to the Liturgical Calendar
by George Angelini, Victor Hoagland (Editor). Regina Press, Malhame &
Company, 1986.
365
Saints: Your Daily Guide to the Wisdom and Wonder of Their Lives
by Woodeene Koenig-Brick (Author). Harper SanFrancisco, 1995.