In general, the early painters, Albert Dürer, Vivarini, Lorenzo di Credi, Benedetto Montagna, represent her in an upright position, with hands folded in prayer, or crossed over her bosom, and thus soaring upwards, without effort of will or apparent consciousness; while the painters of the seventeenth century (with whom this was a favourite subject) strained their imagination to render the form and attitude voluptuously graceful, and to vary the action of the attendant angels, until, in one or two instances, the representation became at once absurdly prosaic and offensively theatrical. F. Zucchero, Cambiasi, Lanfranco, Carlo Maratti, have all given us versions of this subject in a florid, mannered style.
Over the high altar of the Madeleine, at Paris, is the same subject in a marble group, by Marochetti, rather above life-size. Two angels bear her up, while on each side an archangel kneels in adoration.
8. The Last Communion of the Magdalene is represented in two different ways, according to the two different versions of the story: in the first, she expires in her cave, and angels administer the last sacraments; one holds a taper, another presents the cup, a third the wafer. This has been painted by Domenichino. In the other version, she receives the sacrament from the hand of St. Maximin, who wears the episcopal robes, and the Magdalene kneels before him, half-naked, emaciated, and sustained by angels: the scene is the porch of a church.
9. The Magdalene dying in the Wilderness, extended on the bare earth, and pressing the crucifix to her bosom, is a frequent subject in the seventeenth century. One of the finest examples is the picture of Rustichino in the Florence Gallery. The well-known ‘Dying Magdalene’ of Canova has the same merits and defects as his Penitent Magdalene.
I saw a picture at Bologna by Tiarini, of which the conception appeared to me very striking and poetical. The Virgin, ‘La Madre Addolorata,’ is seated, and holds in her hand the crown of thorns, which she contemplates with a mournful expression; at a little distance kneels Mary Magdalene with long dishevelled hair, in all the abandonment of grief. St. John stands behind, with his hands clasped, and his eyes raised to heaven.
When the Magdalene is introduced into pictures of the ‘Incredulity of Thomas,’ it is in allusion to a famous parallel in one of the Fathers, in which it is insisted, ‘that the faith of Mary Magdalene, and the doubts of Thomas, were equally serviceable to the cause of Christ.’
Among the many miracles imputed to the Magdalene, one only has become popular as a subject of Art. Besides being extremely naïve and poetical, it is extremely curious as illustrating the manners of the time. It was probably fabricated in the fourteenth century, and intended as a kind of parable, to show that those who trusted in Mary Magdalene, and invoked her aid, might in all cases reckon upon her powerful intercession. It is thus related:—
‘Soon after Mary Magdalene landed in Provence, a certain prince of that country arrived in the city of Marseilles with his wife, for the purpose of sacrificing to the gods; but they were dissuaded from doing so by the preaching of Mary Magdalene: and the prince one day said to the saint, “We greatly desire to have a son. Canst thou obtain for us that grace from the God whom thou preachest?” And the Magdalene replied, “If thy prayer be granted, wilt thou then believe?” And he answered, “Yes, I will believe.” But shortly afterwards, as he still doubted, he resolved to sail to Jerusalem to visit St. Peter, and to find out whether his preaching agreed with that of Mary Magdalene. His wife resolved to accompany him: but the husband said, “How shall that be possible, seeing that thou art with child, and the dangers of the sea are very great?” But she insisted, and, throwing herself at his feet, she obtained her desire. Then, having laden a vessel with all that was necessary, they set sail; and when a day and a night were come and gone, there arose a terrible storm. The poor woman was seized prematurely with the pains of childbirth; in the midst of the tempest she brought forth her first-born son, and then died. The miserable father, seeing his wife dead, and his child deprived of its natural solace, and crying for food, wrung his hands in despair, and knew not what to do. And the sailors said, “Let us throw this dead body into the sea, for as long as it remains on board the tempest will not abate.” But the prince, by his entreaties, and by giving them money, restrained them for a while. Just then, for so it pleased God, they arrived at a rocky island, and the prince laid the body of his wife on the shore, and, taking the infant in his arms, he wept greatly, and said, “O Mary Magdalene! to my grief and sorrow didst thou come to Marseilles! Why didst thou ask thy God to give me a son only that I might lose both son and wife together? O Mary Magdalene! have pity on my grief, and, if thy prayers may avail, save at least the life of my child!” Then he laid down the infant on the bosom of the mother, and covered them both with his cloak, and went on his way, weeping. And when the prince and his attendants had arrived at Jerusalem, St. Peter showed him all the places where our Saviour had performed his miracles, and the hill on which he had been crucified, and the spot from whence he had ascended into heaven. Having been instructed in the faith by St. Peter, at the end of two years the prince embarked to return to his own country, and passing near to the island in which he had left his wife, he landed in order to weep upon her grave.