Saint, sinner or feminist icon: Mary Magdalene by means of time

Apostle, prostitute, penitent and confidante of Jesus — only a few of the roles assigned to Mary Magdalene for the reason that early days of Christianity.

Artists from the Renaissance to the Baroque interval, together with Titian, El Greco and Georges de la Tour, depicted her within the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as a repentant penitent; Rembrandt portrayed her as a witness to Christ’s resurrection; and Max Beckmann, a consultant of the New Objectivity motion, depicted her as a sinner in 1917.

Nearly a century later, she was portrayed by Lady Gaga in a music video.

“Mary Magdalene might be essentially the most multifaceted and enigmatic determine within the Bible, and likewise some of the enigmatic in European cultural historical past,” says Bastian Eclercy, curator of the exhibition “Mary Magdalene: Sin. Pray. Love” on the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. “She seems numerous instances in artwork historical past.”

What can we find out about Mary Magdalene?

Very little is understood about Mary Magdalene from the Bible, but she performs an vital position within the New Testament.

The Gospels recount that Jesus delivered her from seven demons, and that she accompanied Jesus and witnessed his crucifixion and burial. On Easter morning, she found the empty tomb and have become the primary witness to the Resurrection. She then proclaimed the message of the risen Christ to Jesus’ disciples: “She is then known as the Apostula Apostulorum, that’s, the Apostle of the Apostles,” explains Bastian Eclercy. “This provides her a really central position within the historical past of salvation.”

But it did not cease there.

Around 600 AD, Pope Gregory the Great completely distorted the picture of Mary Magdalene by merging her with two different girls talked about within the Bible: an unnamed girl, the “sinner” talked about within the Gospel of Luke who washed Christ’s toes, and Mary of Bethany (who additionally washed his toes). The Pope claimed that the seven demons forged out of Mary Magdalene by Jesus represented the seven lethal sins. His sermon performed a decisive position in shaping Mary Magdalene’s fame as a repentant prostitute — one thing for which there’s completely no proof within the Bible.

Mary Magdalene’s stays are in France — allegedly

In the High Middle Ages, a legend emerged to the impact that Mary Magdalene, along with Lazarus and a gaggle of companions, had been forged adrift in a ship on the Mediterranean; with divine assist, she is claimed to have reached the coast of Provence in France, the place she first preached the Gospel after which lived in a cave for some 30 years, doing penance.

Even as we speak, two French cities declare to carry her stays: Vezelay in Burgundy and Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume in Provence.

In the sixteenth century, lastly, the Reformation and Renaissance humanism led to a change in considering and opposition to the conflation of the three girls into one.

However, it was not till the Second Vatican Council (1962 to 1965), which adopted far-reaching reforms to the Roman Catholic liturgy, that the identification of Mary Magdalene with the nameless sinner was formally revoked.

“This very broad vary of roles, which have been attributed to her all through historical past and that are in a sure state of pressure with each other, has evidently held a specific fascination for artists of all eras and genres repeatedly, while additionally presenting them with a problem,” explains Bastian Eclercy.

A brand new picture by means of the Gospel of Mary

With the rediscovery of the Gospel of Mary in trendy instances, the picture of Mary Magdalene received one thing of a makeover.

This textual content, not included within the biblical canon, portrays her as a very shut confidante of Jesus and has given recent impetus to discussions about her position.

Today, she is thought to be some of the influential girls of early Christianity and a key determine in feminist theology. “In current many years particularly, she has thus turn into a job mannequin for girls — that’s, for feminine observers — but additionally, and particularly, for modern feminine artists, who see in her the qualities of a girl who lives on her personal phrases,” says Eclercy.

Lady Gaga portrayed Mary Magdalene in her 2011 video for “Judas” — “essentially the most thrilling creative second of my profession,” as she wrote on Twitter on the time.

The most up-to-date portrait within the Frankfurt exhibition — which options greater than 100 depictions of Mary Magdalene — is by the Spanish artist Nieves Gonzalez and was accomplished in 2025: “La Sfida” (The Challenge) deconstructs nearly all the normal attributes ascribed to Mary Magdalene by artists of earlier centuries. 

Where she as soon as gazed penitently in the direction of the heavens, the portray depicts the feminine apostle trying down on the viewer with a confident gaze. Where her hair would in any other case have hung unfastened — alluding to the determine’s sinful previous — right here it lies fastidiously brushed round her neck like a shawl. And the place a lot naked pores and skin would usually be seen, her physique is now wrapped in a thick pink down coat. In her palms, the disciple holds an equally (blood-) pink cranium — for hundreds of years a logo of transience — a gesture that clearly expresses her energy.

Mary Magdalene has now additionally been formally acknowledged as an equal throughout the Catholic Church: In 2016, Pope Francis elevated her liturgical celebration on July 22 from a Memorial to a Feast, thereby aligning her authorized and ritual standing with that of male apostles throughout the religion. It’s yet one more chapter within the illustrious life story of Mary Magdalene, and unlikely to be the final.

The exhibition “Mary Magdalene: Sin. Pray. Love.” runs on the Städel Museum in Frankfurt from September 17 by means of January 17, 2027.

This article was initially written in German.