Mary Magdalen carried to Heaven 1540 - 1560

Curator: The subject here is “Mary Magdalen carried to Heaven," a lovely engraving likely created between 1540 and 1560. Editor: It feels overwhelmingly…vertical. A definite upward thrust is created with that stark radiance pointing up toward the cluster of figures. There’s an almost dizzying quality to its composition, despite being in monochrome. Curator: I find myself contemplating how Mary Magdalene’s identity has been shaped and reshaped throughout history. Here, we see her triumphant, lifted by angels, a far cry from her earlier, often demonized portrayals as merely a repentant sinner. Editor: True, the composition seems almost deliberately constructed to convey her transformation. The figures and light interlock so that her body seems part of a geometric equation more than something holy or representational. Look how her limbs extend and the angel's wings intersect, guiding our sightline upward in this perfect round. Curator: And that ascension implies a complex set of gendered assumptions about redemption, repentance, and worthiness in the eyes of the divine. Mary Magdalene becomes a focal point for examining female figures within religious and art historical contexts. Is this image participating in that? Is it celebrating female redemption or subtly perpetuating limiting tropes, like idealizing repentance to grant divine 'approval?' Editor: The details of execution invite debate, certainly. But there is something profoundly satisfying to me in the tonal contrast that the anonymous engraver extracts here. Each of these choices pulls you into the subject matter in compelling ways. Curator: I'd add that the absence of a named artist amplifies those ideas about authorship. We could also see this artwork as speaking volumes about artistic labor itself—labor that too often goes unrecognized. Editor: I can see the power of examining that collective message within art. On the other hand, it's also such a testament to the way pure graphic representation can be mesmerizing, no matter who the maker was!