MS M.50, Fol. 18v

St. Mary Magdalene Washing the Feet of Christ (fol. 18v, left)

Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute, kneels under Simon the Pharisee's table. She washes Christ's feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, then kisses and anoints them.

Christ is the dominant figure in this miniature, even though it illustrates the Suffrage to the Magdalene. Her characteristic humility, made famous by her dramatic gesture, is intensified by Poyer's placing her, almost inconspicuously, within the shadows beneath the table, her face nearly hidden.

Poyer portrays St. Mary Magdalene in the Hours of Henry VIII.