
TITLE: Mary Magdalene: A Visual History
AUTHOR: Diane Apostolos-Cappadona
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN: 978-0567705747
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
If you step foot in any given museum, chances are you’ll see her. She’s the figure with long, red hair that is seldom covered – more often flowing freely down to the small of her back. Her face is often shiny with tears, or solemn in deep contemplation if not. Beside her you’ll inevitably find a small jug, often uncapped. She is none other than Mary Magdalene and her story is one that is known to most in Western society - or is it? Much of Mary Magdalene’s life is shrouded in mystery beneath layers of folk stories. All of this mystery and invention comes to play in the artwork of her throughout the ages.
Diana Apostolos-Cappadona does a wonderful job of disseminating millenia of stories, debate, and cultural meaning behind this saint and sinner in her book Mary Magdalene: A Visual History (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023.) This hardcover book contains a vast amount of artwork concerning Mary, each piece expertly analyzed and explained by Apostolos-Cappadona.
The author has long been fascinated by Magdalene, and has turned that fascination into years of long study. The book begins by answering a handful of questions concerning her. What is the general perception that the public has about her? How is that perception bolstered or refuted by Christian Scripture? Who, over the past two thousand years, has Mary Magdalene become? This book depicts the journey that Mary has taken in popular consciousness from licentious sinner to penitent preacher, and finally, to her modern day conception as a feminist icon.
This analysis is told not only through writing, but also through popular artwork depicting her throughout the ages. Apostolos-Cappadona shares artwork from a diverse set of artists, and explains how the Magdalene story has held the public’s rapt attention for such a long period of time. She explores the motifs most commonly found within artwork of her, and how the meaning of such motifs has evolved as views towards women have - and why she continues to fascinate and titillate to this very day. This is an excellent introductory work to this aspect of art history that contains insight even for those more familiar with the subject.
AUTHOR: Diane Apostolos-Cappadona
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN: 978-0567705747
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
If you step foot in any given museum, chances are you’ll see her. She’s the figure with long, red hair that is seldom covered – more often flowing freely down to the small of her back. Her face is often shiny with tears, or solemn in deep contemplation if not. Beside her you’ll inevitably find a small jug, often uncapped. She is none other than Mary Magdalene and her story is one that is known to most in Western society - or is it? Much of Mary Magdalene’s life is shrouded in mystery beneath layers of folk stories. All of this mystery and invention comes to play in the artwork of her throughout the ages.
Diana Apostolos-Cappadona does a wonderful job of disseminating millenia of stories, debate, and cultural meaning behind this saint and sinner in her book Mary Magdalene: A Visual History (Bloomsbury Academic, 2023.) This hardcover book contains a vast amount of artwork concerning Mary, each piece expertly analyzed and explained by Apostolos-Cappadona.
The author has long been fascinated by Magdalene, and has turned that fascination into years of long study. The book begins by answering a handful of questions concerning her. What is the general perception that the public has about her? How is that perception bolstered or refuted by Christian Scripture? Who, over the past two thousand years, has Mary Magdalene become? This book depicts the journey that Mary has taken in popular consciousness from licentious sinner to penitent preacher, and finally, to her modern day conception as a feminist icon.
This analysis is told not only through writing, but also through popular artwork depicting her throughout the ages. Apostolos-Cappadona shares artwork from a diverse set of artists, and explains how the Magdalene story has held the public’s rapt attention for such a long period of time. She explores the motifs most commonly found within artwork of her, and how the meaning of such motifs has evolved as views towards women have - and why she continues to fascinate and titillate to this very day. This is an excellent introductory work to this aspect of art history that contains insight even for those more familiar with the subject.