The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 26, 2024

Mary Magdalene presents ointment to Jesus, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier

Mary Magdalene presents ointment to Jesus, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier

1602–04
Sheet: 26.4 x 15.7 cm (10 3/8 x 6 3/16 in.); Image: 20.5 x 10.3 cm (8 1/16 x 4 1/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 2005.145.102.b
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Proportions of the portico and pavilion reveal some grasp of Renaissance ideals.

Description

While Jesus dined in the house of a Pharisee he was approached by Mary Magdalene, who threw herself to the ground weeping. Having wetted Jesus’s feet with her tears, she dried them with her hair and then bathed them with expensive ointment. Mary’s veil falls around her shoulders to reveal her hair’s disarray. Only Jesus appears to be calm as he extends his arms in a pacifying gesture; the other men point at their mouths and at each other, astonished at the dramatic behavior of this woman known to have been a prostitute. The plain black carpets and thin application of paint in some areas indicate that this painting is unfinished.
  • Before 1930s-2005
    An Indian family in Great Britain, whose grandfather brought the manuscript to England in the 1930s or 1940s through 2005
    2005
    (Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd., London, UK, 2005, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2005-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2005-present
  • Prince Salim's Life of Christ (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (December 2, 2019-July 1, 2020).
    Art and Stories from Mughal India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 31-October 23, 2016).
  • {{cite web|title=Mary Magdalene presents ointment to Jesus, from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier|url=false|author=|year=1602–04|access-date=26 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2005.145.102.b