Mary Magdalene 1927

Ludovic Alleaume created this Mary Magdalene in what looks like oil paint, and perhaps some pastel. The surface feels soft, gentle, and hazy, like it's all about to dissolve into the air. The way the light catches on the figure’s back and shoulder, it’s not so much photorealism, but more about the feeling of light itself, the way it seems to shimmer and vibrate, it's as if light is being processed by the air. The palette is restricted, very high key, there’s the skull on the left – a reminder of death – but also these thorny branches, these are elements that recur in religious art, an interest in a figure who is both human and divine, and the relationship between suffering and hope. It puts me in mind of the Pre-Raphaelites, or maybe even Puvis de Chavannes, with its ethereal quality and symbolic intensity. But then again, there’s something very distinct here, an artist using allegory to talk about the human condition, and the struggle for meaning in a world that’s always shifting.