Somewhere between saint, sinner and close companion of Christ: For centuries, Mary Magdalene has been one of the most multifaceted female figures in biblical tradition and art history. The Städel Museum and the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung are presenting the first comprehensive exhibition in the German-speaking world dedicated to her. The exhibition portrays her not only as a projection screen for cultural and religious ideas, but also as an independent figure through whom diverse conceptions of the body, faith and social roles are revealed.
Your Visit
-
-
Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 10 am – 6 pm
Thur 10 am – 9 pm
Mon closed
-
Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 10 am – 6 pm
-
- Entry From €19 / €17, €10 Tue from 3 pm
-
- Schaumainkai 63, 60596 Frankfurt am Main
Programme
for this exhibition
About the Exhibition
Drawing on important works from the collections of the Städel Museum and the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung, the exhibition brings together a total of over 100 outstanding paintings, sculptures and prints from the Middle Ages to the present day. These include significant loans from international collections, among them five outstanding works from the National Gallery in London, as well as others from the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris, the Vatican Museums and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Together, the works in the exhibition at the Städel Museum offer a comprehensive insight into the artistic and emotional range of depictions of Mary Magdalene and illustrate how each era has imbued the figure with its own questions, ideas and longings.
Mary Magdalene fascinates because she vividly reflects the changing perceptions of women, faith and society over the centuries. Her story is therefore also always a story of how she has been viewed.
-
![]()
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
Saint Mary Magdalene in the Desert (Madeleine à la Sainte-Baume), 1869 -
![]()
Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo
Mary Magdalene, ca. 1535-40 -
![]()
Marlene Dumas,
Naomi Campbell as Maria Magdalena, 1996
Works by women artists such as Lavinia Fontana, Elisabetta Sirani, Luisa Roldán, Lotte Laserstein, Kiki Smith, Marlene Dumas and Nieves González are a special focus of the exhibition, alongside major works by eminent male artists including Albrecht Dürer, Pedro de Mena, Guercino, Georges de La Tour, Claude Lorrain, Arnold Böcklin, Max Beckmann and David LaChapelle.
The exhibition opens with a look at contemporary perceptions of Mary Magdalene and traces how her figure has been repeatedly reinterpreted, reshaped and reconstructed from the earliest biblical accounts up to the modern era.
An exhibition by 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)
Arnold Böcklin
Magdalene Grieving over the Body of Christ, 1867
El Greco
Penitent Mary Magdalene
Luis Salvador Carmona
Santa Maria Egipciaca, 1734-1766
Girolamo Di Benvenuto
The Bearing of the Cross, The Crucifixion and The Lamentation, 1501 – 1600
Georges de la Tour
Penitent Mary Magdalen, ca. 1635-40
Luisa Roldán
Ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalene, circa 1700
Max Beckmann
Christ and the Sinner, 1917
Over the course of almost a millennium, Mary Magdalene has been depicted time and again in a wide variety of media and eras. This extraordinary diversity makes her visual history a particularly revealing mirror of the respective eras.
Digital Offers
for this exhibition
-
![]()
Digitorial
The free Digitorial® provides a multimedia introduction to the exhibition, featuring informative short texts, interactive modules and fascinating background information. Available from 15 September 2026. -
![]()
Audio guide App
The audio tour, which lasts around one hour and features more than twenty-five stations, is available in German and English. The free exhibition app will be available for iOS and Android in the App Store and Google Play Store from the start of the exhibition.
Sponsors & Patrons
Sponsored by
Gemeinnützige Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain GmbH, Dagmar-Westberg-Stiftung, Städelverein with the Städelfreunde 1815
With additional support by
Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung
Media Partners
Süddeutsche Zeitung, ARTE
Support Your
Städel Museum Now
Get involved by making a donation to your favorite cause or by providing general support. Your contribution—whether large or small—is a valuable gift for the future of the museum.