Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

340. MS M.917/945, pp. 294–295

St. Mary Magdalene

ca. 1440
The Netherlands, Utrecht
MS M.917/945, pp. 294–295

Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963

A resplendent Mary Magdalene, wearing a fur-lined cloak and holding her attribute, a jar of ointment, stands on tiles decorated with letters from her name. A shabbier version of the saint appears in the left margin, accompanied by angels and blue sky and blessed by God in the top margin. The border alludes to ecstasies the Magdalene enjoyed at the end of her life, when, during her meditations, angels lifted her into the sky. The text on the scroll at the right (from Luke 7:47) explains that Christ forgave her many sins because she loved so much.