St. Mary Magdalene

Abstract

This partially glazed terracotta sculpture of the penitent Mary Magdalene, today located in the Museo Bandini in Fiesole, is said to date to the middle phase of Giovanni della Robbia's activity. The skin has been left unglazed to give a more realistic sense of the tanned ravaged flesh of the saint who, because of a conflation of different women named Mary, was thought by many in the Renaissance to have been a prostitute before her conversion. This image seems to be one of many versions of Donatello's wooden sculpture of the subject. The small size makes it likely that this was originally an object for domestic devotion. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.