sorrowful Mary Magdalene – (Giovanni Angelo Del Maino) ◄ Previous Next ►

Artist: Giovanni Angelo Del Maino

Date: 1525

Museum: Sforza Castle (Milan, Italy)

Technique: Sculpture

This wooden statue,like the statue depicting Nicodemus, was part of a Compianto (Mourning the Dead Christ) a polychrome sculptural grouptypical of sacred art from the 14th century, showing Christ taken from theCross surrounded by seven figures). The entire work, which also included thefigures of the Virgin, of St. John, of Mary Magdalene, of Nicodemus and ofJoseph of Arimathea, was sculpted by Lombard sculptor Giovanni Angelo delMaino. It is thought that the composition remained whole until the 1920s-1930sand was then broken up for various private collections. The sculpture of MaryMagdalene is carved from a single trunk of wood, probably the small-leavedlinden tree, and shows traces of polychromy; it depicts a female figurekneeling at the feet of Christ, with her hair unbound, her mouth open in a cryof grief, her arms reaching out to support the feet of Christ. These wooden groups werenot simply statues, but authentic sacred images of great importance, thepolychromy often undertaken by great painters such as Gaudenzio Ferrari. They bear witness to a notably broad culturalcontext, embracing not only Italian painting but also German sculpture.Castello Sforzesco has one of the key collections of Lombard wooden sculpture,much of which is still spread throughout the original churches