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Mary Magdalene

Maker Italian

Datelate 15th or early 16th century

Possible placeLombardy, Italy, Europe

Possible placeEmilia-Romagna, Italy, Europe

MediumPolychromed terracotta

Dimensionsoverall: 25 1/2 in. x 8 1/2 in. x 6 3/4 in. (64.8 cm x 21.6 cm x 17.1 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number1967.15

Status

On view

Provenanceca. 1913, in the collection of Adolf von Beckerath, Berlin, Germany; before 1967, Edward R Lubin Gallery New York City, New York; December 1967, purchased by the Davis Museum.

RightsCopyright is retained in accordance with U.S. Copyright laws

Photo creditDavis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA

More Information

Object Label

In 1453, the Florentine sculptor Donatello unveiled a 6-foot-high carving of Mary Magdalene that shows her weakened and ravaged by her experience living as a solitary penitent in the wilderness during the last thirty or so years of her life. The interpretation of the Magdalene as an ascetic was new for fifteenth-century Florence, as was the intensity of emotion it conveyed. Donatello’s free-standing Penitent Magdalene inspired the production of many later versions, including this polychromed terracotta, which depicts the figure with sunken eyes and cheeks, weathered skin, and bony toes.