Penitent Magdalene

1717

Caterina De Julianis Italian, 1670 - 1743

Not On View

Penitent Magdalene: 1 of Collection Gallery

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About the Artwork

In this dramatic multimedia diorama, the repentant Saint Mary Magdalene, clad in rough garments, sits alone in a rocky landscape surrounded by meticulously rendered plants and animals. A skull serves as a reminder of the brevity of life while a chain coils around her right arm, potentially symbolizing the fetters that tie humanity to earthly desires.

Known primarily for her sculptures in wax, Caterina De Julianis created numerous religious scenes, most of which remain in her native Naples, Italy. This captivating world in miniature and the empathetic figure of the Magdalene embody the sensitivity and skillful detail achieved by early modern Italian women sculptors working in wax. Like De Julianis, many of these artists received acclaim from their contemporaries but have only recently reemerged as subjects of art-historical attention.

Title Penitent Magdalene

Artwork Date 1717

Artist Caterina De Julianis

Life Dates 1670 - 1743

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Italian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. ----------

Medium Polychrome wax, painted paper, glass, tempera on paper, and other materials

Dimensions Unframed: 10 9/16 × 10 5/8 inches (26.9 × 27 cm) Framed: 23 5/16 × 20 15/16 × 4 1/2 inches (59.2 × 53.2 × 11.5 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department European Sculpture and Dec Arts

Credit Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 2019.44

Markings

Signed Signed, on banderole, lower left: Caterina de Julianis F. 1717

Provenance

Private Collection (Rome);
by October 27, 2018 (Carlo Virgilio);
by March 2018, Jaime Eguiguren (Arts & Antiques, Buenos Aires, Argentina);
2019-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance, please visit:

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Katharina Dohm, Claire Garnier, Laurent Le Bon, and Florence Ostende eds. Diorama – Erfindung einer Illusion. Frankfurt, 2017, pp. 17, 22 (ill.). [see also French Version, Paris, 2017, pp. 17, 22]

Che, Jenny. “The Enduring Delight of the Diorama.” Hyperallergic (August 4, 2017). https://hyperallergic.com/394021/the-enduring-delight-of-the-diorama/

“Schirin Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Diorama – Inventing Illusion.” Phasis (December 2, 2017) p. 2-3 (ill.). https://phasisgallery.com/en/schirn-diorama/

Étienne, Noémie. “Dioramas, Before and After.” Journal 18 (September 15, 2017) pp. 3-4, fig. 4 (ill.). http://www.journal18.org/nq/dioramas-before-and-after-by-noemie-etienne/

Nechvatal, Joseph. “Review: Dioramas- Palais de Tokyo.” Whitehot Magazine (September, 2017). https://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/dioramas-at-palais-de-tokyo/3746

Jaime Eguiguren Arts and Antiquities. Caterina De Julianis, Naples ca. 1670-1743, Penitent Magdalene 1717. Buenos Aires, 2018, pp. 2-6.

Étienne, Noémie. “Le diorama, par-delà l’espace et le temps: un media transhistorique et transcultural.” In, D’Une Rive À L’Autre Patrimoines Croisés Naef, Silvia, Pauline Nerfin and Nadia Radwan eds. p. 129, fig. 3 (ill.).

Kinsella, Eileen and Henri Neuendorf. “From a Portrait by a Teenage Picasso to Artemisia Gentileschi’s ‘Allegory,’ Here are 5 Standout Works at TEFAF New York.” Art Net News (October 29, 2018) no. 2, (ill.). https://news.artnet.com/market/6-must-see-masterpieces-tefaf-new-york-1381510

Giuseppe Porzio, ed. Selected Works from 17th to 20th Century. Exh. cat., Galleria Carlo Virgilio & Co at TEFAF New York Fall, October 27-31, 2018. New York, 2018, pp. 42-44, cat. 4 (ill.).

Grifol, Pedro. “Maastricht y su TEFAF, la feria de arte por execlencia.” (March 18, 2019). https://www.eleconomista.es/turismo-viajes/noticias/9766696/03/19/Maastricht-y-su-TEFAF-la-feria-de-arte-por-excelencia-.html

Straussman-Pflanzer, Eve, and Oliver Tostmann, eds. By Her Hand: Artemisia Gentileschi and Women Artists in Italy, 1500–1800. Exh. cat., Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art and DIA. Detroit, 2021, pp. 158-160 (ill.); cat. 51.

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

Caterina De Julianis, Penitent Magdalene, 1717, polychrome wax, painted paper, glass, tempera on paper, and other materials. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, 2019.44.