En bedende Magdalene 1756 - 1804

Curator: Welcome. We’re standing before Cornelius Høyer's "En bedende Magdalene," believed to have been created sometime between 1756 and 1804. The artist used tempera to execute this miniature painting, now residing here at the SMK. Editor: It's such an intimate piece, isn’t it? There's a delicate, almost mournful quality that’s immediately apparent, even despite the ornamental gold frame. Curator: Precisely. The oval composition, along with the dark background, works to amplify the central figure. Note how the subject’s upward gaze leads your own eye along that same trajectory, emphasizing an external focal point. Editor: The gesture of the hand against the breast further directs the viewer's attention, but I read this as more than a devotional portrait of Mary Magdalene. It speaks to the complicated position of women during this time, constrained by expectations of piety and subservience, while simultaneously embodying powerful cultural symbols. Curator: Certainly. While historical context is valuable, it’s equally crucial to understand how the Rococo style, prevalent at the time, manifests. See how the flowing lines of her hair contrast with the simplified planes of her face? The softness, a distinct attribute of the era, gives it that pensive tone. Editor: I find myself drawn to the use of tempera itself. It lends an almost translucent quality to the skin, emphasizing her vulnerability, but perhaps it’s also speaking to artifice? How women were often made to appear fragile, masking other interior conditions of experience. Curator: Well, artifice has always played a part in the execution of portraiture! To me, it speaks more about the symbolic, about achieving that sense of yearning and spiritual contemplation. It represents more than a literal interpretation of femininity; the composition evokes emotion in its purest form. Editor: But whose emotion are we really witnessing? The artist's conception? Or perhaps reflecting the socio-political framework. It provokes discussion of how limited portrayals were for the very Magdalene figures of their day. Curator: I believe the work beautifully portrays a study in compositional and thematic nuance, allowing us access into the inner workings of how the visual program impacts an image. Editor: For me, its miniature scale amplifies that intimate contemplation but it invites a reading that incorporates historical realities and challenges existing narratives around womanhood.