1445_Mary_Magdalene_Weyden.txt

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Rogier van der Weyden 1399/1400 – 1464
Mary Magdalene

oil on panel (101 × 35 cm) — c. 1445
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Rogier van der Weyden biography

This is the left panel of Van der Weyden's Crucifixion triptych. Mary Magdalene, dressed in mourning clothes, is shown with great grief on her face. This Magdalene is quite different from the one Van der Weyden painted five years later (shown here).

The landscape in the background shows that landscapes weren't Rogier's specialty. However Mary's face shows that his talent for depicting emotions was unmatched.

Mary is holding her usual attribute, an ointment pot. This may be based on a misunderstanding, as John writes that is was Mary of Bethany who anointed Jesus' feet. Marc and Matthew write about an woman who poured ointment over Jesus' head, but neither mentions her name.