Caravaggio, "Penitent Magdalen", c. 1596-97, Doria Pamphilij Gallery
As I searched for a painting to illustrate my post on the feast day of Mary Magdalen late yesterday, I found the painting pictured above. Although Caravaggio is one of my favorite artists in the world, I didn't use the painting, because the Gospel for the feast tells of Mary seeing Jesus at the tomb after his Resurrection, and the penitent Magdalen did not illustrate the story.
But I chose not to use the painting for another reason, because the painting puzzled me. Something seemed to be missing. Was Mary looking down at someone/something that had been painted over? Her pose suggests that of Mary in Michelangelo's "Pietà", and I wondered whether Caravaggio had not painted Mary holding the dead Christ and then overpainted, or perhaps he means to suggest something of the sort.
The source of the picture above is Philolog at Standford University's website. In the commentary which accompanies the picture at the site, no mention is made of overpainting, so I suppose my initial thought is without foundation. And, very likely, I'll never know for certain if Caravaggio meant to suggest something that is not explicit in the painting or what that something was.
Counterlight! Calling Couterlight! Doug's (aka Counterlight) recent post on Caravaggio, with illustrations and commentary, is excellent and well worth a look.
Caravaggio's self-portrait as the severed head of Goliath has always reminded me strongly of Michelangelo's self-portrait as the flayed skin of St Bartholomew so it would not surprise me if there are other apparent echoes of Michelangelo in Caravaggio's work.
ReplyDeleteCathy, the Michelangelo is gruesome, too gruesome for me to look at for long, but I see what you mean.
ReplyDeleteDoug says that Rembrandt was influenced by Caravaggio, and the use of light and shade by the two artists is similar. Both are at the top of my list of favorite artists, in part because of the striking contrasts. I expect that influences flowed hither and yon.
Not being as observant as you, I did use this painting for my St. Mary Magdalene post 2 years ago. I do see what you mean though about the pose. At the time I had read that the discarded strands of pearls signified her former "shameful" life.
ReplyDeleteSince the Marys didn't get sorted out until the twentieth century I said she deserves some new art (though I used a painting by Carlo Dolci this year - she still has the jar of perfume, but at least no pearls!).
As far as I know, there is no overpainting here, but the comparison to pieta compositions is spot on. Mary Magdalen sometimes appears in pieta paintings at Christ's feet (a reminder of her supposed role as the woman washing His feet with her tears at the Feast of Levi).
ReplyDeleteThis is Caravaggio's first religious painting.
C.W.S, as you see, I ended up using the painting anyway, just not on MM's feast day, so as not to distract from the celebration of the day with my disquisition on my puzzlement about the composition.
ReplyDeleteThis is Caravaggio's first religious painting.
Counterlight, thanks. It's great to have a friend like you who knows such information about artists and works of art.