She is Christ’s companion, saint and sinner, symbol of desire and repentance—Mary Magdalene has fascinated for centuries through her contradictions. The Städel Museum and the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung are presenting the first comprehensive exhibition in the German-speaking world dedicated to the extraordinary figure of Mary Magdalene.
About the Exhibition
From the writings of the New Testament to medieval legends and up to the present day, Mary Magdalene has been interpreted in countless ways in art, always reflecting the ideas of femininity, spirituality and independence of the respective era. The exhibition explores how her image has evolved over the centuries—from ascetic penitent and ecstatic saint to a modern, self-determined woman as a figure of identification. Mary Magdalene is presented both as a projection screen for cultural and religious ideas and as an independent, multifaceted figure who mediates between the body, faith, and the social roles attributed to her.
Important works from the collections of the Städel Museum and the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung form the starting point of the exhibition. Around one hundred works from major German and international collections, including paintings, sculptures and prints, are brought together and illustrate the wide range of artistic and emotional representations of Mary Magdalene. A special focus will be placed on women artists, such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Lavinia Fontana, Elisabetta Sirani, Lotte Laserstein, Kiki Smith and Marlene Dumas. In addition, major works by important male artists, including Albrecht Dürer, Pedro de Mena, Guercino, Georges de la Tour, Claude Lorrain, Auguste Rodin, Arnold Böcklin and Max Beckmann, will be presented.
Southern Germany/Austria?
Saint Mary Magdalene as a Penitent, First half of the 17th century
Girolamo Di Benvenuto
The Bearing of the Cross, The Crucifixion and The Lamentation, 1501–1600
Max Beckmann
Christ and the Sinner, 1917
The exhibition will also explore the iconographic transformation of Mary Magdalene in popular culture. It thus demonstrates how each era has inscribed its own questions, ideas and longings into the figure of Mary Magdalene—and how she continues to provide an opportunity to reflect on role models, spirituality and the interpretation of female experience.
An exhibition of the Städel Museum and the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
Curators
Dr Bastian Eclercy (Head of Italian, French and Spanish Paintings before 1800, Städel Museum), Dr Stefan Roller (Head of the Medieval Department, Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung)
Sponsors
Sponsored by
Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V.
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