Sketches of Mary Magdalene to the composition ‘Entombment’ 1850

Curator: Here we have Jozef Simmler’s pencil drawing from 1850, “Sketches of Mary Magdalene to the composition ‘Entombment’.” It's a preparatory piece, giving us insight into the artist's process. Editor: The raw emotion is striking. Even in these early sketches, you can sense the figure's grief and anguish. It communicates mourning. Curator: Absolutely. Let's consider Magdalene's portrayal historically. Often, she is positioned in opposition: repentant sinner or devoted follower. I think Simmler, through these gestures and poses, offers a vision of nuanced understanding and feminine grief, breaking away from simple dichotomy. Her downcast gaze perhaps acknowledges historical societal sins of her time. Editor: The drooping head and downturned hands signify vulnerability and despair. Visually, they serve as signifiers deeply embedded in our understanding of human sorrow. You can find echoes in countless depictions of grief throughout art history. The pose speaks volumes across time. Curator: It's important also to acknowledge this as a work made by Simmler within very specific historical structures: class, patriarchy and art education and institutions that inform his gaze and inevitably are reflected in the creation, however sensitively rendered. The depiction itself may then carry historical meanings on what it signified in that society at the time and what social meaning it reproduces even if attempting to push the boundary or open new narratives. Editor: Even in a preparatory sketch, we can see the emerging iconography taking shape. The positions he considered here ultimately play a role in the visual memory of Magdalene’s sorrow at the Entombment. These marks have weight. Curator: And that weight resonates across generations, provoking continuous reflection. Perhaps it pushes us to ask, even now, how art is part of society reproducing and innovating upon old structures of social relationship and gendered position. Editor: Exactly. What starts as a private sketch becomes part of our collective visual language, an evolution. Curator: Thank you. I find these brief sketches full of historical presence but they challenge us also with questions about enduring impact.