Frederick Sandys: Mary Magdalene, 1859

Frederick Sandys (1829-1904) was the son of a painter, and was educated at the Norwich School of Design. He began his career as a portrait painter and antiquarian illustrator, exhibiting at the Norwich Art Union even as a boy. He moved to London in 1851 and worked as a draughtsman for wood engravers. He became associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and developed a friendship and shared a house with Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who pronounced Sandys as "the greatest living draftsman."  Sandys' powerful and sensual images of female beauty and his iconic renderings of alluring and mysterious women are uniquely his own.

In many ways, Mary Magdalene is the most accessible of the female saints, a real human being, unlike the lofty, remote and far too pure and unreal Virgin Mary. Part of her appeal, to be sure, resides in her embodying a fundamental female identity, which may be very ancient. According to Church (but not biblical) tradition, Mary Magdalene was a sinful woman, who upon meeting Christ repented her former ways. She was present at the Crucifixion and later went to anoint Christ's dead body (in accordance with Jewish burial ritual), only to discover that he was resurrected. As in this painting, the Magdalene is often depicted as a great beauty with long golden hair.

Frederick Sandys (1829-1904) was the son of a painter, and was educated at the Norwich School of Design. He began his career as a portrait painter and antiquarian illustrator, exhibiting at the Norwich Art Union even as a boy. He moved to London in 1851 and worked as a draughtsman for wood engravers. He became associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and developed a friendship and shared a house with Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who pronounced Sandys as "the greatest living draftsman."  Sandys' powerful and sensual images of female beauty and his iconic renderings of alluring and mysterious women are uniquely his own.

In many ways, Mary Magdalene is the most accessible of the female saints, a real human being, unlike the lofty, remote and far too pure and unreal Virgin Mary. Part of her appeal, to be sure, resides in her embodying a fundamental female identity, which may be very ancient. According to Church (but not biblical) tradition, Mary Magdalene was a sinful woman, who upon meeting Christ repented her former ways. She was present at the Crucifixion and later went to anoint Christ's dead body (in accordance with Jewish burial ritual), only to discover that he was resurrected. As in this painting, the Magdalene is often depicted as a great beauty with long golden hair.

the above text appears on theback of the card
HC-971: card size 7" x 5" (178mm x 127mm)