Magdalene’s Legacy

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Let’s
take a
whirlwind
tour of artwork
featuring Mary
Magdalene
.

Mary Magdalene
is only mentioned in
a dozen Bible verses,
so it will be a simple
exercise to compare
these images with
what scripture
teaches us
about
her
.

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This verse
is the first
mention
of her
:

…
The
Twelve were
with him, and also
some women who had
been cured of evil spirits.
Mary (called Magdalene)
from whom seven
demons had
come out;
… 

Luke 8:1-2

I couldn’t find
any related artwork
on the internet, but I
found this image on an
illuminated page in the
“Book of Hours”
:

7
black
demons
are shown
leaving her
body
.

I don’t know
why she is portrayed
with her breasts exposed,
unless “seven demons” has
a sexual association, but
there is no scriptural
support for that
assumption
.

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What else
does the bible
say about
Mary
???

Many women…
…had followed Jesus
from Galilee to care
for his needs. Among
them were Mary
Magdalene,
…

Matthew 27:55-56

First we
learned that
she was cured
of “seven demons”,
and now we know that
she was a follower
and supporter
of Jesus
.

I couldn’t find any
images of Mary that
showed her as a
follower and
supporter
of Jesus
.

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Maybe her cure
implies a “conversion”
but the bible doesn’t
mention conversion
specifically
.

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Mary
was present
at the crucifixion
…

Now his mother and
the sister of his mother,
Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene
were standing near
the cross of Jesus.

John 19:25

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…and she saw where
Jesus was buried
.

Now Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary
were there, sitting
opposite the
tomb.

Matthew 27:61

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She bought and
prepared spices
to anoint his
body
.

When the
Sabbath was over,
Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James, and
Salome bought spices so
that they might go to
anoint Jesus’ body. 
Very early
on the first day
of the week, just
after sunrise, they
were on their
way to the
tomb
…

Mark 16:1-2

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So,
now
we know
…

When we
see a painting
of a woman holding
a jar, it is probably
Mary Magdalene
.

but is it
“ART”
???

moving
on
…

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All four gospels
share the story of
the women visiting
the tomb, and
finding it
empty
.

But
the angel said to
the women, “Do not
be afraid, for I know
that you seek Jesus
who was crucified.
He is not here,
for he has
risen”

Matthew 28:5-6

This
is one of my
favorite paintings
of Mary Magdalene
.
I can almost feel the
drama of Mary arriving at
the tomb with the other
women, jar in hand,
conversing with
an angel
.

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She
was the
first person
to witness the
resurrected
Christ
.

When Jesus
rose early on the
first day of the week,
he appeared first to
Mary Magdalene,
out of whom
he had driven
seven demons.

Mark 16:9

Jesus said to her,
Do not touch me, for
I have not yet ascended to
the Father. But go to my
brothers and tell them,
‘I am ascending to my
Father and your
Father,
and
my God
and your God’.

John 20:18

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She
announced
the resurrection
.

Mary Magdalene
went to the disciples
with the news:
“I have seen
the Lord!”
…

John 20:18

Now
it was Mary
Magdalene and
Joanna and Mary
the mother of James
and the other women
with them who told
these things to
the apostles,
but
these words
seemed to them
an idle tale, and
they did not
believe
them.

Luke 24:10-11

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So,
that’s the
biblical account
of Mary Magdalene,

but

in church tradition
and in the art world,
the story doesn’t
end there
!!!

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Here’s
a beautiful
modern painting by
Wendy Brusick Steiner
that was displayed by the
American Bible Society
in their exhibit,
“In
Search of
Mary Magdalene:
Images and Traditions”
:

Mary is shown
being comforted by
one of the other women
after Jesus’ death, and a
child is shown below
holding the nails of
his crucifixion
.

I love this
painting
!!!

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Moving
away from
the realm of
scripture, why
do we see so
many skulls
???

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and in
a significant
number of these
artworks, her
clothes are
falling off
.

I was tempted to
show more of these,
but will leave it for
you to explore
on your
own
.

Many
artworks
in the category
“Penitent Magdalene”
seem like convenient
opportunities to paint
nudes, or what some
critics claimed to be
“holy pornography”
.

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My
thoughts
are summarized
in this question
:

Is
there
any reason to
believe that the
REAL
Mary Magdalene,
a person we may
be meeting in
the afterlife,
devoted
follower &
supporter of
Jesus and the
first witness to
his resurrection,
would want to be
portrayed baring her
breasts, caressing skulls
and posing provocatively
in religious paintings
until the end
of time
???

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There’s a
long history of
myth-making in the
continuing story of
Mary Magdalene
.

This one
uses Mary as
a centerpiece for
the battle between
good and evil
:

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I’ve
become
concerned by
the images I’ve seen
that aren’t faithful
to scripture
.

Exaggerating
her story beyond
the biblical account
has resulted in
scenes of
absurdity
.

These
paintings
of her supposed
ascension show her
body covered
with hair
:

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I
wonder
how she feels
about that
.

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According to the
Roman Catholic, Lutheran,
Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican
churches, Mary Magdalene is
now considered to be a
saint, with a feast day
celebrated on
July 22
.

As
a saint, the
symbols we have
attributed to her; jars,
skulls, tears, hair and
partial nudity, will
be associated
with her
forever
.

Do
we owe
her an apology
???

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Most of the images
in this article are “details”
of larger works. Specific areas
have been magnified to show
the symbols being discussed.

Seek out the full paintings
to view them the way the
artist intended them
to be seen.

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If you want to
learn more about Mary,
Smithsonian Magazine
published an article
about her in 2006
:

(Thanks, Ron!)

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Here are the
bible verses that
specifically mention
Mary Magdalene,
in chronological
order
:

Ministry

Luke 8:1–2 (LEB): And it happened that ⌊afterward⌋ also he was going about from one town and village to another preaching and proclaiming the good news concerning the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with him, and some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had gone out...

Crucifixion & Burial

Matthew 27:55–56 (LEB): And there were many women there, observing from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

Mark 15:40–41 (LEB): And there were also women observing from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome, who used to follow him and serve him when he was in Galilee, and many other women who went up with him to Jerusalem

John 19:25 (LEB): Now his mother and the sister of his mother, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene were standing near the cross of Jesus.

Matthew 27:61 (LEB): Now Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Mark 15:46–16:2 (LEB): And he rolled a stone over the entrance of the tomb. Now Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was placed.

Resurrection

Matthew 28:1 (LEB): Now after the Sabbath, at the dawning on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to view the tomb

Mark 16:1–2 (LEB): And when* the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchased fragrant spices so that they could go and* anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they came to the tomb after* the sun had risen.

Mark 16:8–10 (LEB): The Longer Ending of Mark
Now early on the first day of the week, after he* rose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had expelled seven demons. She went out and* announced it* to those who were with him while they* were mourning and weeping.

John 20:1 (LEB): Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it* was still dark, and saw the stone had been taken away from the tomb

John 20:10–18 (LEB): 
Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.* But Mary stood outside at the tomb, weeping. Then, while she was weeping, she bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white, seated one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have put him!” When she* had said these things, she turned ⌊around⌋ and saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She thought that it was the gardener, and* said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned around and* said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said to her, “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came and* announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and he had said these things to her.

Luke 24:9–10 (LEB): Now Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the others with them were telling these things to the apostles