THE THIRD MARY

Our next Mary, is not relatied to Jesus, but loved Him no less. MARY MAGDALENE embodies the tragedy of having witnessed the death of He who saved her from public execution for adultery.  She anchors the composition on the right, her hands clasped in disconsolate despair. More than the other two Marys, she seems to be alone, as if no one can touch her grief.

Her elbows raised high and her fingers tightly clasped under her chin in a gesture of prayer. The trauma evident in her pose leads us to believe she is about to fall at the feet of Jesus, those same feet she had once so lovingly anointed with oil and dried with her own hair, and that are now bloodied..

Strong light fills this part of the painting from above right and illuminates the exposed skin of Mary Magdalene’s vulnerable back and neck. But one’s mind’s eye is drawn back again to the mysterious girdle belt that spells out the letters IHESVS MARIA. The significance is not lost on the viewer.

Her dress is in  the fashion of the day: sleeves were normally worn short so she has tacked on a longer, red velvet pair with a small metal pin. The hem of her green dress is edged with thick velvet.  Interesting to note, her short headpiece is of the same fringed material as that of the Virgin Mary's veil and Christ's loincloth.

Unlike the other two Mary's, she is not upright but leaning into the body of an unidentified man behind her.

One recalls Ingres’ words: “Details perform an essential role in classical painting, to engage the spectator as they contemplate them is to touch their soul.”