The Assumption of Saint Mary Magdalene

Silvestro dei Gherarducci , Italian, 1339-1399

Title

Date1380s

MediumTempera and gold leaf on wood panel

Credit LinePurchased, 1922 (Lane Fund)

Object numberNGI.841

DescriptionThe cult of Mary Magdalene and her depiction in art were always very popular. She symbolised Christian repentance and the final redemption. As a result of this widespread devotion, her legendary life soon became enriched with new episodes.

According to some of these, in the last years of her life she renounced the world and retreated into the wilderness of southern France, where she spent a long time in solitary penance before dying. Soon after, she was borne by angels and transported to heaven.

This picture is considered one of the earliest painted examples of her assumption. Mary Magdalene is depicted as emaciated, covered only by her long hair, with her hands crossed over her chest and bearing an expression of total faith.

Silvestro dei Gherarducci was a Benedictine monk of the order of Camaldoli based in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. His activity as a painter was not confined to altarpieces: he was also engaged in the illumination of many religious manuscripts.
Label TextOver the centuries, the stories associated with Mary Magdalene were embellished by Christian writers. According to the Golden Legend, a mid thirteenth century collection of saints’ lives, she spent her last thirty years living as a hermit in the south of France. Seven times a day angels carried her to heaven for a glimpse of the paradise to come. Gherarducci was a Benedictine monk based in the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. He worked primarily as a manuscript illuminator, but he also painted a number of religious pictures.