Mary Magdalen

              Sometime between 1430s and 1450s Donato di Niccolo de Betto Di Bardi, also know as Donatello created a Mary Magdalen sculpture.  Mary is made from polychromy and gold on wood. This Mary Magdalen sculpture stands about six feet tall. I chose this work of art because I have not yet seen Mary Magdalen portrayed this way before; usually she is very beautiful and appears like a doll. My first reaction to this sculpture was that it is very emotional and it evokes a lot of feeling and curiosity on the viewer.

           

            Donatello captures Mary Magdalen in an fascinating way through use of texture. Mary Magdalen is clothed in her own hair. The utilization of texture conveys hair, and the texture creates contrasting values which increase visual interest. Although I am unsure why she is dressed in her own hair, it adds a twist to the way Mary Magdalen is perceived. Her clothing is droopy, cheerless and depressing. Through the use of texture and line in her clothing you feel that she is being pulled down and emulates her gloomy facial expression. There is a great amount of texture in her face. Donatello expresses her naturally by including wrinkles in her face. Her facial appearance looks as if she has been suffering and is being tormented; she looks extremely depressed and miserable. Donatello captured her emotion in a way that viewers are able to feel what she may have felt. There are shadows being cast upon her eyes due to her dramatic brow. She is looking downward conveying a physic line to the unknown. Mary’s mouth is slightly open, almost appearing to be saying something. Her hands are held up and are about to be pressed together as if she is going to pray. The idea that she could be praying communicates to me that she might actually be tortured and could be asking god for help in some way.

             

This sculpture of Mary Magdalen created in the round suggests movement. There is anticipated movement because she is lifting her hands and is about to press them together to pray. The anticipated movement captures the viewer’s interest. Perhaps the artist did this in order for the viewer’s eyes to be moved from her hands to her face which is truly being emphasized. There is emphasis through placement; her hair is placed on her face in a way that emphasizes her facial expression. Mary Magdalen is posed with the contrapposto weight shift. This weight shift goes almost unnoticed due to her frumpy clothes made of hair. I believe Donatello created what more or less looks to be a belt above her hips. Usually, when contrapposto is utilized it is immediately noticed in the hip area. In Mary’s case the contrapposto is more so noticed in her legs, which are not being covered by the dress of hair. Mary Magdalen has one weight bearing leg and the other leg is slightly bent. I find the way Mary is standing on the pedestal to be rather enthralling. She is standing on a rock pedestal with one foot on the pedestal and the other foot looks as if she might take a step of the pedestal, this appears very engaging to the viewer. One could say there is stylization in the fact that she is dress in her own hair, yet there is also naturalism. Mary Magdalen has toned muscle in her arms and legs give her a naturalized appearance.

All together this Mary Magdalen sculpture created by Donatello during the Southern Renaissance in Italy is out of the ordinary, and puzzling. I think part of why this sculpture stood out to me is that the sculpture is not conforming to the classical ideas that some sculpture during this time were returning to. For example Donatello’s David appears to be influenced by classical ideals. One could stare at this sculpture for hours considering why she would be dressed in her own hair. Or why does she have such an discontent facial expression, what happened in order for her to feel this way. One could also wonder why Donatello chose to create a sculpture of Mary Magdalen in a way that is so abnormal for her.