Spanish school; 18th century.

Spanish school; XVIII century.
"Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross".
Polychrome terracotta and attached to stucco.
It presents faults in the carving and polychrome.
Measurements: 83,5 x 46,5 x 16 cm.
This work of devotional character shows one of the most represented themes throughout the history of art. However, both compositionally and thematically it has a great originality that distances it from the usual representations of the crucifixion without losing the drama and sobriety attached to the moment of Christ's death. At the foot of the cross the artist does not present the usual figures that form the Calvary; Mary and St. John, inherited from the Byzantine Deésis, but shows only Mary Magdalene seated at the foot of the cross.
The author has avoided dramatism by presenting a muscular body, anatomically proportioned with no signs of wounds on the side or forehead. Medieval tradition considers her one of the most faithful followers of Christ, a repentant prostitute who became a saint thanks to the power of her faith in Jesus. There are several sources that narrate her retreat to the desert and her eremitical life after the death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ to heaven. The theme of hermit saints in vast panoramic landscapes was very much to the taste of the Baroque. On the one hand, it allowed the representation of characters with a strong expressive and emotional charge, in acts of penitence, contrition or mystical illumination. On the other hand, it was in the 17th and 18th centuries when the landscape genre gained importance in its own right and this theme facilitated the depiction of beautiful views that sometimes, as here, also acquired an emotional, expressive character.