Perfume, tears, Cross and Resurrection · Mary Magdalene

Georges de La Tour, Titian, Fra Angelico and Gérard David follow Mary Magdalene from silent penance to the Crucifixion and to meet the resurrected Christ.

Mary Magdalene occupies an exceptional place in Christian art. Disciple of Christ, present at the Crucifixion and at the tomb, she is the first to meet the resurrected Jesus according to the Gospel of John. Western tradition has long brought her closer to the sinful woman who anoints Christ's feet, giving birth to the great image of the penitent. The vase of perfume becomes its main attribute; the long hair recalls the anointing, while the skull, the book, the crucifix, the abandoned mirror and the flame develop meditation on time, conversion and death. Titian paints a penitent turned towards the sky, carried by color and material. Georges de La Tour reduces the scene to a woman, a flame, a mirror and a skull, creating one of the quietest images of the 17th century. At the foot of the Cross, Mary Magdalene is distinguished by physical proximity and expressive pain. In the Noli me tangere, Fra Angelico simply organizes the gesture of Christ who slips away and that of Madeleine who recognizes the Risen One. The "Sainte Marie-Madeleine" selection notably compares Madeleine penitent - Georges de La Tour and Marie-Madeleine - Titian. His reading favors light.

Mary Magdalene goes through the entire Easter story: she cries, remains near the Cross, discovers the empty tomb and becomes the first messenger of the Resurrection.