Abstract

The study I conducted during the PhD in Art and History focused on the origin and development of the myth, the spread of devotion and its consequential influence on late medieval and Renaissance. I pointed out that Mary Magdalene expresses an ambivalent beauty, on the one hand a symbol of lust before her conversation and on the other hand one of renewed purity, like Eve in Eden as well as the eternal feminine power of the ancient lunar goddesses. A beauty at the same time exalted and denied through her fasts, vigils and prayers entailing the mortification of her body. Therefore, Mary Magdalene became the model of conversion and dedication to God, especially among monks and friars. I found it interesting to focus on the iconographic element that mainly characterizes the Saint long golden hair. In conclusion I analyse the figure of the Holy Sardinian-Catalan altarpieces (retabli) in the period between the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

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