Category:Naked Mary Magdalene

The early notion of Mary Magdalene as prostitute and adulteress was reflected in much Western medieval Christian art. She may be shown either as very extravagantly dressed, or alternatively as completely naked but covered by very long blonde or reddish-blonde hair. The latter depictions represent the Penitent Magdalen, who according to medieval legend had spent a period of repentance as a desert hermit after leaving her life as a prostitute and her life as a follower of Jesus. Her story became conflated in the West with that of Saint Mary of Egypt, a 4th century prostitute turned hermit, whose clothes wore out and fell off in the desert. In medieval depictions Mary's hair preserves her modesty, but from the 16th century some depictions, like one by Titian, show part of her naked body, the amount of nudity tending to increase in successive periods. Even if covered, she often wears only a drape pulled around her. In particular, Mary is often shown naked in the legendary scene of her "Ascension", where, depending on the version, she is sustained in the desert by angels who raise her up and feed her heavenly manna.