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DOI Artikel:Kaleciński, Marcin: "Mary Magdalen at the Tomb of Christ": an unknown work of Antiveduto Gramatica at the visitation convent in Cracow
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18945#0164
Marciti Kaleciriski
"Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
of Christ".
An unknown work of Gramatica
at the Visitation Convent in Cracow *
The painting Mary Magdalen at the Tomb of Christ (Figs. 1-2) is located in
the Visitation Convent in Cracow.1 According to convent tradition it was
imported from Italy, yet there are no sources of information specifying the
provenance of the painting.
It depicts one of thes scenes most rarely portrayed in the iconography of this
saint. It is based on the Gospel of St. John (XX, 11—13): “But Mary stood
without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and
looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the
head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have
taken away my Lord, I know not where they have laid him.” A Latin
inscription with last words of this conversation is visible on the wall of the
tomb.
The scene is arranged at the foot of Golgotha, visible in the background of
the painting. From behind the hill the sun is rising, as, according to the gospel,
the event took place “..early, when it was yet dark” (John XX, 1). In the
upper left corner of the painting the grotto, in which lay the body of Christ is
visible. The figures are gathered around a tomb; Mary Magdalen, portrayed as
a long-haired young woman in distress, with expressive hand movements, in
a purple brocaded gown, with black trim and with a golden pattern of
pomegranates. A scarf with a design similar to the design of her gown is
thrown over her left shoulder. The angels sit gracefully on the opposite edge
of the tomb, indicating the empty tomb of Christ. The first of them, shown in
* This article was presented at the Caravaggio's conference during the discussion.
1 Oil on canvas, 134 X 178 cm. In 1994 Krystyna Sokóf-Gujda undertook conservation of the
painting, which resulted in the removal of a yellowed varnish from the painting. Conservation
revealed a heretofore invisible grotto with overgrown ivy in the upper left corner of the painting.
The inscription on the tomb, originally in black, was indecipherable (see Dokumentacja
konserwatorska 12-stu obrazóiv z klasztoni ss. wizytek w Krakowie, manuscript, Cracow 1994).
154
"Mary Magdalen at the Tomb
of Christ".
An unknown work of Gramatica
at the Visitation Convent in Cracow *
The painting Mary Magdalen at the Tomb of Christ (Figs. 1-2) is located in
the Visitation Convent in Cracow.1 According to convent tradition it was
imported from Italy, yet there are no sources of information specifying the
provenance of the painting.
It depicts one of thes scenes most rarely portrayed in the iconography of this
saint. It is based on the Gospel of St. John (XX, 11—13): “But Mary stood
without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and
looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the
head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have
taken away my Lord, I know not where they have laid him.” A Latin
inscription with last words of this conversation is visible on the wall of the
tomb.
The scene is arranged at the foot of Golgotha, visible in the background of
the painting. From behind the hill the sun is rising, as, according to the gospel,
the event took place “..early, when it was yet dark” (John XX, 1). In the
upper left corner of the painting the grotto, in which lay the body of Christ is
visible. The figures are gathered around a tomb; Mary Magdalen, portrayed as
a long-haired young woman in distress, with expressive hand movements, in
a purple brocaded gown, with black trim and with a golden pattern of
pomegranates. A scarf with a design similar to the design of her gown is
thrown over her left shoulder. The angels sit gracefully on the opposite edge
of the tomb, indicating the empty tomb of Christ. The first of them, shown in
* This article was presented at the Caravaggio's conference during the discussion.
1 Oil on canvas, 134 X 178 cm. In 1994 Krystyna Sokóf-Gujda undertook conservation of the
painting, which resulted in the removal of a yellowed varnish from the painting. Conservation
revealed a heretofore invisible grotto with overgrown ivy in the upper left corner of the painting.
The inscription on the tomb, originally in black, was indecipherable (see Dokumentacja
konserwatorska 12-stu obrazóiv z klasztoni ss. wizytek w Krakowie, manuscript, Cracow 1994).
154