“Mary-Magdalene”
“Mary-Magdalene” is an oil on canvas painting by the Belgian painter, Alfred Stevens, from 1887. This striking portrait depicts the French actress, Sarah Bernhardt, as the Biblical character, Mary Magdalene.
Stevens was very good friends with the highly talented and popular Sarah Bernhardt, whom he met in 1887. He did a number of portraits of her, often painting her as famous characters of history and literature. Bernhardt was a muse to many famous artists of the day, including Alphonse Mucha, Jules Bastien-Lepage, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
In this piece, we see Bernhardt portrayed as Mary Magdalene, the woman who left her disreputable life for that of a converted hermit. She is seated with her hair flowing. She is leaning gently towards the viewer. Her face rests in her left hand while her left pinky rests on her mouth. Her right hand is gently cradling a skull, almost embracing it. The skull and long hair are symbolic imagery traditionally seen in depictions of Mary Magdalene.
When the painting was first exhibited, the provocative stance and direct look of Mary shocked the public, who were used to seeing her as a woman in penitence.
This painting was commissioned by the Parisian art dealer, Georges Petit. Petit is remembered for his pivotal role in helping Impressionism become a respected and valuable art movement. Georges Petit was at the center of the art world, which was Paris in the 1880s.
“Mary-Magdalene” is currently on display at the Museum voor Schone Kunsten Gent, or MSK, in Ghent, Belgium.
For more on Alfred Stevens, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
