Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene 1460 - 1470

This image of Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene was made by an anonymous artist, using ink and watercolor on parchment. The translucent, subtly modulated washes of color let the texture of the parchment come through, emphasizing its physical presence. The thin lines of the ink drawing define the figures and landscape, but also flatten them, so we are left with the sense of looking at an abstract pattern as well as a scene. This effect may have been heightened by the artist’s use of a compass to define the haloes. The amount of work involved in the production process would have been considerable. First, the parchment had to be prepared from animal skin, then the inks and pigments were mixed by hand according to ancient recipes, and finally the artist would have slowly built up the image, line by line, wash by wash. Paying attention to material and making allows us to see how this image balances a clear symbolic message with a tactile, handcrafted quality. The artwork challenges any firm distinction between fine art and craft.