  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.
  
  
  
  
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  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
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
