Mary Magdalene (Sandys)
Mary Magdalene is a Pre-Raphaelite 1858-1860 painting by Frederick Sandys. Mary Magdalene was the only figure from the Bible that Sandys ever painted. Having sharp features reminiscent of Lizzie Siddal (though the model is unknown),[1] Mary is depicted in front of a patterned forest-green damask. She holds an alabaster ointment cup, a traditional attribute which associates her with the unnamed sinful woman who anointed Jesus' feet in Luke 7:37. Like other Pre-Raphaelite painters, Frederick Sandys gave Magdalene a sensual look.
| Mary Magdalene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys |
| Year | ca. 1858–1860 |
| Type | Oil on panel |
| Dimensions | 33.5 cm × 28 cm (13 1⁄4 in × 11 in) |
| Location | Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware |
Dante Rossetti accused Sandys of plagiarism, because of the resemblance to his Mary Magdalene Leaving the House of Feasting,[2] but when Rossetti came to paint Magdalene some twenty years later, it was his painting that resembled Sandys.[1]
Mary Magdalene was acquired in 1894 by Samuel Bancroft, the most important American collector of Pre-Raphaelite art, whose family donated his collection to the Delaware Art Museum in 1935. Bancroft had bought the painting from Charles Fairfax Murray, an artist in the Pre-Raphaelite circle.
It has been exhibited as part of a touring exhibition of the Bancroft Collection, at the Saint Louis Art Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh, Nottingham Castle, and other locations. It was once featured in an oversize advertisement in the San Antonio International Airport.[3]
See also
References
- "Shadowlight: The Pre-Raphaelite Goddess". Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- The watercolor, dated 1857, is at the Tate Gallery; it was exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery Archived 2008-07-08 at the Wayback Machine.
- "Delaware Art Museum". Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2007-10-02.