Penitent
Magdalen, Pedro de Mena.
This sculpture was made for the casa profesa of the Jesuits in Madrid during a voyage of Pedro de Mena to Madrid. It was finished in his studio of Malaga in 1664.
Technical data:
- Size, dimensions: 171 cm x 52 cm x 61 cm
- Material used: Polychromed wood, carving.
- Actually, this sculpture of Pedro de Mena is on the National Museum of Sculpture, Valladolid.
The Penitent Magdalen is distinguished for the simplicity of its forms. She looks like a
young and Hebrew woman. This sculpture is the living image of penance and
repentance. It is made up of polychromed wood. The colors are inside the ocher
and brown variety, very appropriated with the theme and spirit that Pedro tried
to transmit with this sculpture. This is one of the finest examples of the
realistic language of Spanish Baroque sculpture, steeped in emotion and
religiosity.
Mary Magdalen contemplates a crucifix she holds in her left hand. Her right
hand is on her bosom, indicating her love and devotion to Christ. She feels
empathy for Christ's suffering. The movement begun by her left foot represent a
dynamic pose. She has a sad look with red eyes, caused by tears and her mouth
is slightly open and dry. For the long and flowing hair, Pedro de Mena used
several strands of twisted wicker, painted with a chestnut colour. She is
wearing a simple long dress, down to his feet and tied around her waist with a
rope.
The theme
of the Penitent Magdalen is a representation of the repentance of the Cristian
believers. This sculpture it isn’t very common at the time and in the
Andalusian school neither. There aren’t many sculptures of this style during
the Baroque period in Spain.
It is a
sculpture with a lot of realism that transmits a spiritual value that shows the
influence of some Castilians sculptors, like Gregorio Fernández.
In this
sculpture we can recognize different features of the Baroque style, like:
movement, realism in representations, interest in surprising the audience,
capturing fleeting moments, use of
curved lines and cloths folds…
The subject
belong to be religious, representing drama and realism, using: wounds, blood,
expression of suffering (like the Penitent Magdalen) and pain.
Pedro de Mena
Pedro de Mena was a Spanish sculptor who is considered the most famous representative of Granada during the Baroque period in Spain. He dedicated his life's work to producing sculptures about religious imagery, just as his father had done before him. He shared his workshop with a famous Spanish sculptor and artist, Alonso Cano. As a result, the pair worked together and collaborated in many projects during their lives.
Bust of Pedro de Mena http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Malaga-Pedro_de_Mena-20110921.jpg/250px-Malaga-Pedro_de_Mena-20110921.jpg
Pedro de
Mena has been one of the best sculptors of all time, he was able to create
naturalistic iconographic on the Granada school, and he was one of the most
influential sacred sculptors in the Spanish religious art during the 17th
century until today.
He kept
alive the Granada school and he created the focus of sculptors from Malaga. He
had influence one hundred and fifty years after his death.
Sources
Atlas ilustrado de la Historia del Arte, Susaeta.
Historia del Arte, Vicens Vives. J. R. Triadó Tur, M. Pendás
García, X. Triadó Subirana.
2 comments:
Today on La 2, The Penitent Magdalen in La mitad invisible. Watch it, if you want to learn more:
http://www.rtve.es/television/20141125/obra-cumbre-dela-escultura-barroca-espanola-magdalena-penitente-pedro-mena/1055200.shtml
Hello Nuria,
These are my corrections and comments to your work:
This sculpture was made for the professed house of the Jesuits in Madrid during a trip of Pedro de Mena to Madrid. It was finished in his studio of Malaga in 1664.
Technical data:
• Size, dimensions: 171 cm x 52 cm x 61 cm
• Material used: Polychrome(d) wood, carving.
• Currently/ At present, this sculpture of Pedro de Mena is on the National Museum of Sculpture, Valladolid.
The Penitent Magdalen is distinguished for the simplicity of its forms. She looks like a young and Hebrew woman. This sculpture is the living image of penance and repentance. It is made up of polychrome(d) wood. The colors are inside the ocher and brown variety, very appropriate(d) with the theme and spirit that Pedro de Mena tried to transmit with this sculpture. This is one of the finest examples of the realistic language of Spanish Baroque sculpture, steeped in emotion and religiosity.
Mary Magdalen contemplates a crucifix she’s holding in her left hand. Her right hand is on her bosom, indicating her love and devotion to Christ. She feels empathy for Christ's suffering. The movement begun by her left foot represents a dynamic pose. She has a sad look with red eyes, caused by tears and her mouth is slightly open and dry. For the long and flowing hair, Pedro de Mena used several strands of twisted wicker, painted with a chestnut colour. She is wearing a simple long dress, down to her feet and tied around her waist with a rope. X-radiography has revealed that the main body of the figure was created from a column of wood to which Mena attached the separately carved body parts using animal glue and long nails.
The theme of the Penitent Magdalen is a representation of the repentance of the Christian believers. This sculpture (it) isn’t very common at the time and in the Andalusian school neither. There aren’t many sculptures of this style during the Baroque period in Spain.
It is a sculpture with a lot of realism that transmits a spiritual value that shows the influence of some Castilian(s) sculptors, like Gregorio Fernández.
In this sculpture we can recognize different features of the Baroque style, like: movement, realism in representations, interest in surprising the audience, capturing fleeting moments, use of curved lines and cloths folds…
The subject belongs to religious sculpture, representing drama and realism, using: wounds, blood, expression of suffering (like the Penitent Magdalen) and pain.
Pedro de Mena
Pedro de Mena was a Spanish sculptor who is considered to be the most famous representative of Granada during the Baroque period in Spain. He dedicated his worklife to producing sculptures about religious imagery, just as his father had done before him. He shared his workshop with a famous Spanish sculptor and artist, Alonso Cano. As a result, the pair worked together and collaborated in many projects during their lives.
Pedro de Mena has been one of the best sculptors of all time, he was able to create naturalistic iconographic in the Granada school, and he was one of the most influential sacred sculptors in the Spanish religious art during the 17th century until today.
He kept (alive) the Granada school alive and he created the focus of sculptors from Malaga. He continued to be influential one hundred and fifty years after his death.
You could have explained who Mary Magdalen was and why she's represented in this way. Your mark is 9. I hope you enjoyed the project. Bye!
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