Mary Magdalene, Donatello

Hands almost touch and are held up in prayer (interpretation)

delicate and fragile gesture, prayer highlights religious role

emaciated, skeletal face with anatomical detail shown (interpretation)

the cheek bones and sinews suggest fasting during Penetance

high levels of anatomical detail including arm muscles and collar bones (interpretation)

not idealised, naturalism, creates overall sense of fragility

subtle contraposto (interpretation)

doesn’t seem steady showing vulnerability

slightly bent left leg which highlights foot (interpretation)

high degree of naturalism, truthful and ugly, sense of movement

depth of hair and rags (interpretation)

both have a similar texture through excellent use of subtractive process of carving, creating depth

style (2)

1. early renaissance
2. references to northern europe - wooden sculpture

composition (3)

1. free-standing wooden sculpture of a woman in agony
2. slight contraposto pose
3. close pose - hands, helped through wood

colour (3)

1. brown, slightly monochrome
2. neutral colour
3. originally gilded and polychromed wood (red)

three-dimensional space (4)

1. hair and drapery
2. arms raised in prayer
3. not completely closed
4. left knee bent outwards, emphasising feet

light and tone (3)

1. light highlights anatomical detail
2. shadows and darkness through layers of rags
3. wood doesn’t capture light that well, duller

volume, mass and form (3)

1. substantial volume
2. mass slightly decreased through unbalanced stance
3. elongated torso

materials, techniques and processes (4)

1. wood
2. subtractive process
3. low tensile strength
4. high skill - hard to find one piece of wood with same consistency

why was wood particularly suited for this sculpture?

wood was cheap, therefore relatable with poorer audiences

texture, pattern, ornament and decoration (3)

1. thicker texture - hair and rags
2. juxstaposition between rough rags and smooth skin - contrasting strength and vulnerability
3. naturalistic pattern - neck

line (4)

1. created through hair and rags
2. pointed feet - not idealised
3. hands create vertical lines (heaven)
4. eyes - emotional connection, pain

scale (4)

1. relatively life size
2. 1.88m
3. proportionate
4. fragile

At what point did Vasari & Avery place this statue at?

Traditionally placed the statue at the end of Donatello’s career

At the end of Donatello’s career, what did this link her to?

Bronze John the Baptist from Siena Cathedral (1457)

why is dating difficult?

No documents from the 15th century exist.

where was she located and what dates?

In the baptistery from 1500 to the flood in Florence of 1966.

What research led to a revision of dating & meaning of Mary Magdalene?

Donatello was also associated with a convent just outside the city at Cestello.

What form does the sculpture take?

Form of the iconic Penitential type of Mary Magdalene

Although Donatello wasn’t the first to represent MM, what did he add that was new?

Psychological drama - very similar to the wooden John the Baptist produced in 1438 in Florence but intended for Venice.

By this point in Donatello’s career, who was he far more superior than?

• Than his original teacher Ghiberti in creation of free-standing figures in the round.

• E.g. Ghiberti’s St Steven (1427-8).

which piece of art does Mary Magdalene not relate to?

The bronze *Judith and Holofernes (1456).*                           

where does the story of Mary Magdalene feature?

In the medieval Golden Legend - the source artists used for the lives of the saints.

What would artists use the Golden Legend for?

Source used for the lives of the Saints.

what does Mary Magdalene embody the concept of and why?

The Penitent Saint - she had spent 30 years fasting and repented at the end of her life.

where is the influence of Humanism seen?

the naturalism and the idealised muscles and contraposto pose.

What was MM a very popular subject for?

• The religious orders

• Had been encouraged by Saint Antoninus, a patron Saint of Florence.

• Most representations of MM usually had female patrons.

What is it possible she was created for?

For the convent associated with the church Santo Spirito, in the centre of Florence.

However, what was she more strongly associated with?

The convent of Santa Maria Maddalena di Cestello, which cared for so-called ‘fallen women’.

Why was wood appropriate?

• Humble material

• Well suited to replicating religious subjects that were relatable for the poor & marginalised in society.

• E.g. prostitutes and unmarried mothers.

Why would the location make sense?

The location of the statue in the baptistery, makes sense when remembered that the convent was restructured and replaced by monks in 1442.

Regardless of the location, what was important about the sculptures identity?

Her gilding was expensive and would have added prestige as well as signalling her divinity.

What is important about the carving technique?

The carving technique was highly expressive and could well have been influenced by the wooden sculpture of Germany and Northern Europe.

What exhibition did she not feature in & why?

• She did not feature in the huge exhibition devoted to Donatello which opened in Florence in 2022.

• Wood was too fragile to move.

Charles Avery source

“experiments in expressionism”

Vasari source

“perfect understanding of human anatomy”