The theme of Mary Magdalene appeared in the visual arts as early as the 11th century. Ensor incorporated this long visual tradition into his own typology. As was often the case, he reworked a female figure that had (probably) originally been drawn from a model. Some attributes refer to Mary Magdalene: the skull at the bottom left and the cross in her hands. The death symbolism fits in with the traditional iconographic interpretations of the penitent Magdalene figure. In Ensor's work the skull had a pronounced morbid, ironic or fantastic connotation.
| Artist |
James Ensor
RKD
VIAF
Wikidata
|
|---|---|
| Title | The Magdalene |
| Date | 1887 |
| Period | 19th century |
| Medium and support |
drypoint
AAT
etching AAT heightened |
| Signatures, inscriptions, and markings | inscription on the reverse: AT |
| inscription on the reverse: D.9 | |
| Collection | print room |
| Object type |
drypoint
AAT
etching AAT |
| Inventory number | 1998-B-9 |
| Acquisition credit |
purchase
Taevernier, Auguste (coll.) 1998 |
| Current whereabouts | Work on display |
| Permalink | https://mskgent.be/collection/work/data/1998-B-9 |
| IIIF Manifest | https://imagehub.mskgent.be/iiif/3/4001/manifest.json |
| Art & Architecture Thesaurus | 300055874 religious symbolism AAT |
|---|---|
| Keywords Iconclass |
11HH(MARY MAGDALENE)
the penitent harlot Mary Magdalene; possible attributes: book (or scroll), crown, crown of thorns, crucifix, jar of ointment, mirror, musical instrument, palm-branch, rosary, scourge
Iconclass
31AA the (nude) human figure; 'Corpo humano' (Ripa) - AA - female human figure Iconclass 31AA235 sitting figure - AA - female human figure Iconclass |
| School / Style |
phantasy
satire (artistic device) AAT historicism (theory) AAT |
| James Ensor : Catalogue illustré de ses gravures ; Leur description critique et l'inventaire des plaques = Geïllustreerde catalogus van zijn gravures ; Hun kritische beschrijving en inventaris van de platen = Illustrated catalogue of his engravings ; Their critical description and inventary of the plates / Auguste Taevernier. - Ledeberg (Gent) : Erasmus Boekhandel bv Amsterdam, 1973 (nr. 9) |
|
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