Recherches historiques autour de la Bible, de Jésus et des premiers chrétiens
9 Mars 2019
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Mary called “Magdalene” is Mary, mother of Jesus
Iconographic evidences
Thierry Murcia, PhD (2018-2020)
Latest changes: August 2020
Introduction
According to Polyvios Konis : “The artistic production of the fourth and fifth centuries offers no examples in which the Virgin can be distinguished in either the Maries at the Tomb or the Chairete.” But he adds in a footnote : “Neither the sarcophagi nor the ivories show any evidence that the artist meant to depict the Virgin in those scenes but the absence of any inscriptions make any secure conclusion difficult.” In addition, he specifies : “In the sixth century we have an abundance of evidence, both in theological literature and in artistic production, which placed the Virgin in the post-Resurrection narrative. The evidence comes entirely from Syria and Palestine, which demonstrates that this was a local tradition. The Syrian Rabbula Gospels is one such example.” However, according to Polyvios Konis: “The two women in the Maries at the Tomb and the Chairete scenes are Mary Magdalene and the Virgin.”[1]
This is also the opinion of most researchers. But another reading of all these documents is possible which sees in Mary Magdalene the Mother of Jesus. This reading is based not only on the text of the Gospels but also on an ancient tradition from the same geographical area as most of the documents examined.
[1] Polyvios Konis, From the Resurrection to the Ascension: Christ’s Post-Resurrection Appearances in Byzantine Art (3rd – 12th c.), University of Birmingham, 2008, p. 104–105.
1. Ivory panel, British Museum (ca 420 AD)
The Crucifixion
On all representations, at the foot of the Cross, Mary, the mother of Jesus (on the left), is accompanied by the beloved disciple (John 19: 26-27). This is John, according to tradition. On this old representation, none of the characters wears a halo. That of Christ seems to have been added later. This representation does not depend on an eastern pattern.
Ico. 1a
The scene of the empty tomb
On the next panel of the same box (1b), which illustrates John 20: 1, 11-12 and Matthew 28: 1-4, the same female figure (i.e. the mother of Jesus) can be found on the left. Now, in the Gospel according to John, this female figure is Mary of Magdala: “But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb” (John 20: 11). So I think that it is indeed, for the artist, the same unique character.
The woman seated on the right must be the other Mary (Matthew 28: 1-8), also called “Mary, the mother of James and Joses/Joseph”, who is also present (in second position) on all the ancient representations of the visit to the sepulchre (see 2b, 2c).
The detail of the terrified and/or drowsy guards, recognizable by their equipment, is borrowed from Matthew (28: 4, 11-15).
Ico. 1b
2. Ivory Panel (ca 400 AD)
The ivory panel of the Munich Museum (2a) is one of the earliest examples to depict three women visiting the sepulchre instead of two. As on the Rabbula Codex (see below 5b), Jesus holds a scroll in his left hand. The three women are Mary of Magdala, the other Mary and Salome (Mark 16: 1-8).
The theme of the Seated Angel (here without wings or halo) is found in most representations of the visit to the sepulchre[1].
[1] The angel is absent on the ivory panel of the British Museum (1b).
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Ivory panel, Bavarian National Museum, Munich (ca 400 AD) |
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Ico. 2a |
The other Mary, so named (by Matthew) in relation to the first Mary (the mother of Jesus alias Mary called Magdalene) is also present (in second position) in all the ancient representations of the visit to the sepulchre.
Ico. 2b
Ico. 2c
3. Ivory carving (ca 500 AD)
This ivory carving (3) shows, on the one hand (upper part), the visit to the sepulchre (Matthew 28: 1-7); and, on the other hand (lower part), the appearance (called the “Chairete”) of Jesus to the two Mary’s : Mary called Magdalene and the other Mary (Matthew 28: 8-9).
Ico. 3
4. Mosaics of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo (ca 500-550 AD)
The scene of the empty tomb or holy women at the tomb
Mary is easily recognizable on this mosaic (4a) as she wears clothes made on the same model as those of her son: purple (blue-violet) and adorned with two vertical golden bands (see below 4b, 4c and 4d). She is represented here accompanied by the other Mary (Matthew 28: 1-8). As in the Gospel, when accompanied, Mary/Mary called Magdalene systematically takes first place. She is standing in the foreground or precedes the other Mary. The other Mary, the second of the name, so named (by Matthew) in relation to the first Mary (the mother of Jesus alias Mary called Magdalene: there are only two Mary in the stories of the Passion and the Resurrection) is also called “Mary, the mother of James and Joses/Joseph”, named after her two eldest sons. It is the same female character as Mary of Clopas, mentioned by John, the sister-in-law of Mary (called her “sister” by John).
We find the theme of the Seated Angel (Mark 16: 5; Matthew 28: 2; John 20: 12), here easily recognizable as bearing wings and halo. He holds, with his left hand, a long wand – emblem of the messenger and sign of authority – while he greets the two women with his right hand.
Ico. 4a
Ico. 4b
Ico. 4c
Ico. 4d
5. Rabbula Codex (586 AD)
Mary called Magdalene / The mother of Jesus, is perfectly recognizable in these miniatures of the Rabbula Codex (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d). As in the Gospel, she is standing in the foreground or precedes the other Mary. She is distinguished here by: 1) the place she occupies (the first); 2) the colour of her clothes (blue-purple, like her son); 3) the fact that she is the only female character to wear a halo.
Ico. 5a
Ico. 5b
Ico. 5c
Ico. 5d
6. The Syriac Bible of Paris (6th – 7th century)
This miniature of the Syriac Bible of Paris (6) shows The Virgin (and Child) wearing the same purple clothes adorned with two vertical golden bands. She is flanked by Solomon (representing the wisdom of the Old Testament) and Ecclesia (personification of the Church).
Syriac Bible of Paris (folio 118r): Mary, Solomon, the Church
Ico. 6
7. Reliquary of the Holy Sanctuary (ca 600 AD)
Polyvios Konis rightly says about this reliquary (7): “The one in the purple garment is the Virgin, securely identified from the other scenes (e.g. the Ascension) where she is wearing the same clothes.” But he (wrongly) adds: “This contradicts the Gospel narrative where the Virgin is not mentioned at any post-Resurrection event.”[1] In reality, there is no longer any contradiction if we accept the idea that, for those artists of Eastern origin (and for the evangelists, as my work has established), the mother of Jesus and the Magdalene are one and the same Mary.
[1] Polyvios Konis, From the Resurrection to the Ascension: Christ’s Post-Resurrection Appearances in Byzantine Art (3rd – 12th c.), University of Birmingham, 2008, p. 35, n. 118.
Reliquary of the Holy Sanctuary (ca 600 AD)
Ico. 6
Polyvios Konis makes the following observation: “A particular iconographic detail of this scene has no precedence and that is the posture of the Virgin, who bends over to see the empty tomb. In all other earlier and later examples the Mary closest to the tomb bends her head slightly and not her entire body.”[1] John 20:11 is the only Gospel passage showing a woman bending over to see the empty sepulchre and this woman is Mary of Magdala: “But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb” (see also here Ico 1b and my comment).
[1] Polyvios Konis, From the Resurrection to the Ascension: Christ’s Post-Resurrection Appearances in Byzantine Art (3rd – 12th c.), University of Birmingham, 2008, p. 126.
8. St Catherine’s Monastery (Mount Sinai, 7th – 8th century)
The following icon (8a), from the seventh century, illustrates the story of the appearance of Jesus to both Mary (the “Chairete”): Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (Matthew 28: 1-10). The mother of Jesus is easily recognizable. She wears purple-red clothes of the same color as those of the Risen One. She is standing before her son and holds out her hands to him as if to grasp him (see John 20: 16-17). She is also very clearly identified by the abbreviation ΑΓ ΜΡ which stands for “Saint Mary” (Ἁγία Μαρία) and which, on early icons was used to denote the Mother of God[1]. The prostrate woman (see Matthew 28: 9), in darker clothing, is here the other Mary, the aunt of Jesus (aka Mary, the mother of James and Joses/Joseph).
[1] See Hilarion Alfeyev, Orthodox Christianity, volume III: The Architecture, Icons, and Music of the Orthodox Church, St Vladimir’s Sminary Press Yonkers, New York, 2014[2008] , p. 116.
The appearance of Jesus to the two Mary’s (Mt Sinai, 7th century)
Ico. 8a
On this icon on wood (8b) – from the same monastery but slightly posterior (8th century) – Jesus is presented between the two thieves. He is dressed in purple red colobium (sleeveless tunic, see 5a and 7) adorned with two vertical golden bands. Mary (right) and John (left) wear a halo. Mary, like her son, is dressed in purple red. The names of the main characters are mentioned: Mary (again identified by the abbreviation ΑΓ ΜΡ), John, Gestas and Desmas (for whom only the first letters appear). There are some new elements here. Unlike older representations, the Crucified One has his eyes closed. He wears a crown of thorns and one can distinguish the flow of blood and water. As on the Rabbula Codex (5a), there are three soldiers sitting at the foot of the Cross and gambling for Jesus’s coat. In the upper left-hand corner of the icon (at the height of Christ’s head), one can see the sun in the sky. The moon was also to appear, in the upper right-hand corner, in the destroyed part.
Icon of the Crucifixion (Mt Sinai, 8th century)
Ico. 8b
Same monogram: ΑΓ ΜΡ
Η ΑΓΙΑ ΜΑΡΙΑ / Saint Mary
Synoptic view (1)
To these various iconographic witnesses, one could add that – indirect – of the rhetorician Choricius of Gaza (first half of the sixth century). Choricius left us a short description of the mosaics of St. Sergius Church in Gaza, built in the early days of Justinian (527-565 AD) and now destroyed. Between the representation of the Resurrection and that of the Ascension, he mentions that of the Apparition to the Women (the “Chairete” = Matthew 28: 8-9), in the first rank of which was to figure the mother of Jesus. He says :
“They also set guards next to His tomb, but He, making mock of their guards, regains His immortality and, after appearing to the women surrounding His mother, is borne up to His dwelling place escorted by a heavenly choir. And so He has not belied those ancient prophets who compass about the central part of the ceiling.” (Laudatio Marciani I, 76)
Polyvios Konis is therefore right to say that “the abundance of evidence from sixth– and seventh–century Palestine show that at least in that area, the presence of the Virgin in the post-Resurrection narrative was widely accepted.”[1]
The mother of Jesus / Mary, called Magdalene, is indeed perfectly recognizable in all these representations, whether mosaics of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, the Rabbula Codex, the Reliquary of the Holy Sanctuary or the icons of Mount Sinai. She is distinguished by: 1) the place she occupies (the first, as in the Gospels); 2) the fact that she is sometimes the only female character to wear a halo (Rabbula Codex); 3) her purple-coloured clothes (blue-violet or red-purple) made on the model that those of her son and sometimes also adorned with two vertical golden bands (mosaics of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Syriac Bible of Paris).
[1] Polyvios Konis, From the Resurrection to the Ascension: Christ’s Post-Resurrection Appearances in Byzantine Art (3rd – 12th c.), University of Birmingham, 2008, p. 117.
9. Church of Santa Maria Antiqua (Roma, 741-752 AD)
Built in the 5th century, the Church of Santa Maria Antiqua is the oldest Christian building of the Forum Romanum. The interior of the building is decorated with ancient frescoes of Byzantine style including the Crucifixion (9) made during the time of Pope Zachariah (741-752). As in most previous representations (5a, 7, 8b), the Crucified One is dressed in purple colobium (a sleeveless long tunic) adorned with two vertical golden bands. Mary (right) and John (left) wear a halo. Mary, like her son, is dressed in purple. The names of the characters are mentioned: “Saint Mary” (Sancta Maria), “Longinus”, “Saint John the Evangelist”. As on the Rabbula Codex (5a, see also 8b), one can see the sun and the moon on either side of Christ’s head.
Byzantine frescos in Santa Maria Antiqua (Rome, 741-752 AD)
Ico. 9
10. Enameled Byzantine reliquary box (ca 800 AD)
Reliquary of Byzantine type (ca 800) of the same inspiration as the previous images. Jesus is dressed in purple colobium (10a) adorned with two vertical bands (10a, 10b). The names of the characters are mentioned: Mary (Theotokos = “Mother of God”), dressed in purple, on the left. John on the right. Both wear a halo. As on the Rabbula Codex (5a) and the fresco of the Church of Santa Maria Antiqua (9, see also 8b), we can see the sun and the moon on either side of Christ’s head (10a, 10b).
Ico. 10a
Ico. 10b
Synoptic view (2)
11. Codex Egberti (ca 980 AD)
In the miniatures of Codex Egberti, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is very present. Her head is covered and she wears a halo. She is most often dressed in purple and white and her clothes are sometimes adorned with a golden border. It is patently she who is at the head of the three Myrrhophores (“myrrh-bearers”) who go to the sepulchre (11f): a scene of which Mary Magdalene is at the same time absent. Mary Magdalene (11g), in fact, appears only in the following image, the scene of Noli me tangere (“Touch Me Not”: John 20: 17). She does not have a halo. Her head is uncovered and her hair dropped. But she wears a purple garment (adorned with a golden border) on the model of earlier representations where she was identified with the mother of Jesus.
Ico. 11a – 11b – 11c
Ico. 11d – 11e
Ico. 11f – 11g
As Barbara Baert said: “In early Christian art, Christ does not stand opposite a single woman, but at least two witnesses (…) Mary Magdalene did not exist as a separate iconographic personality during this period”[1]. But, according to her: “The artist of the Egberti Noli me tangere relied on earlier images in his representation of the scene. Evident in a comparison of earlier scenes of the Resurrection, particularly the version featuring the holy women, Mary Magdalene’s kneeling posture and her outstretched hands were inherited from the early Christian Chairete model (…) The early Christian Resurrection iconography had a great influence on the development of the Noli me tangere iconography. The Codex Egberti constitutes the moment when the Noli me tangere emerges as a distinct theme from an older iconographic and compositional pattern.”[2]
[1] Barbara Baert, To touch with the gaze. Noli me tangere and the iconic space, 2012, Leuven, p. 27.
[2] Barbara Baert, “The Gaze in the Garden: Mary Magdalene in Noli me tangere”, in Michelle Erhardt & Amy Morris (eds), Mary Magdalene, Iconographic Studies from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, 2012, Leiden – Boston, p. 199-200.
Ico. 11g
The next two miniatures (11h, 11i) feature Martha and Mary of Bethany, the two sisters of Lazarus. In both scenes, Martha is dressed in white, and Mary is dressed in green. They do not have a halo. Their heads are uncovered and their hair loose. In the Codex Egberti, Mary of Bethany is clearly distinguished from Mary Magdalene (11g).
Ico. 11h – 11i
Ico. 11j
12. Mosaics of the Cathedral of Monreale (Sicily, ca 1200 AD)
The Byzantine mosaics of Monreale Cathedral in Sicily are also inspired by early models. It is difficult here to say whether the first of the holy women represented in the scene of the visit to the sepulchre (12a) is Mary Magdalene or the mother of Jesus. The identification is made difficult by the fact that the woman dressed in purple in the next scene (12b), and who is designated as the Magdalene, is unlike any of these three women. This Magdalene, in a scene where the Chairete and the Noli me tangere are mixed, corresponds to the mother of Jesus of the earlier models (see below). This does not mean that, for the artist, the Magdalene is the mother of Jesus. But it might suggest that he correctly identified the earlier representation of the mother of Jesus as the Magdalene.
Ico. 12a
Ico. 12b
Synoptic view (3)
Ico. 12c
13. Livre d’Images de Madame Marie (ca 1285 AD)
In the Livre d’Images de Madame Marie (13th century), Mary Magdalene and the Mother of Jesus are not distinguished. Was it, for the artist, the same female figure? Hard to answer.
Ico. 13a – 13b – 13c
Ico. 13c – 13d – 13e
14. Jacobite-Syrian Lectionary (Mosul, North Iraq, ca 1220 AD)
During the seventh century, in the East, the Mother of Jesus and the Magdalene ceased to be considered as a single female figure. As it can be noticed on those representations (14a, 14b), three Mary at the Calvary – as in the West – are then pictured (namely: the Magdalene, the other Mary and the mother of Jesus) and not two any longer (the mother of Jesus called Magdalene and the other Mary) as before. And it is a Magdalene which can be distinguished from the mother of Jesus – but still ahead – who goes to the sepulchre with the other Mary (14b) and another woman (Salome or Joanna, wife of Chuza: 14a, 14b).
Ico. 14a
Ico. 14b
Synoptic view (4)
Synoptic view (5)
From now on, the divorce is consumed.
Master of the Strauss Madonna, The Man of Sorrows and the Symbols
of the Passion (14th century)
Or almost?
Rogier van der Weyden, Saint Mary Magdalen (left panel of the Crucifixion Triptych, ca 1440)
These representations, in particular those of Syrian-Eastern or Syro-Palestinian origin or inspiration (Mosaics of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Rabbula Codex, Reliquary of the Holy Sanctuary, Icons of Sinai), strengthen the conclusions published in my book in 2017: Mary called Magdalene – 1st-8th century – Between Traditions and History, Aix-en-Provence, Provence University Press (420 pages)[1].
Thierry Murcia, PhD (2018-2020)
(Thierry Murcia / Marie Badet, 2019, for the translation)
[1] Marie appelée la Magdaléenne – ier-viiie siècle – Entre Traditions et Histoire, Presses Universitaires de Provence, Aix-en-Provence, 2017.
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Mary called Magdalene is Mary, mother of Jesus (Iconographic evidences) - last update: 03/03/2019
Mary called Magdalene is Mary, mother of Jesus (Iconographic evidences) - last update: 03/03/2019
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