Mary Magdalene as a young girl, clutching her unguent vase 1832

Giovita Garavaglia created this engraving of Mary Magdalene as a young girl in the early 19th century. It’s interesting to consider the public role of religious imagery at this time. Here, Mary Magdalene is portrayed with a halo, clutching her traditional attribute, the unguent vase, and gazing upwards. This composition tells us much about the politics of imagery in the period in which it was made. Religious institutions in Italy shaped artistic production and the engraver would have been very familiar with this history. The geography and social class of the artist would also have shaped this artwork. Was he trying to reaffirm a social order? Or challenge it? To understand this work better, research into the prevailing religious attitudes of the time would be invaluable. It’s important to remember that the meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.