Penitent Magdalene | Detroit Institute of Arts Museum

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.

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

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)

Katharina Dohm, Claire Garnier, Laurent Le Bon, and Florence Ostende eds. Diorama – Erfindung einer Illusion. Frankfurt, 2017, p. 17; p. 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) pp. 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, 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. 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, 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.

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.

Penitent Magdalene, 1717

On View

Department

Details

Related Works

Orphrey Fragment, c. 1500

Orphrey Fragment, c. 1500

Orphrey Fragment, c. 1500

Mirror of Youth, ca. 1973

C,C/A,V, 1975

Sketch for Hide, 1990