De boetvaardige Maria Magdalena 1861 - 1887

Curator: I’m drawn in by the hush of this little etching. There’s an intimacy here, almost like catching someone lost in their own world. Editor: Precisely! What we see is "The Repentant Mary Magdalene" by Thérèse Schwartze, crafted sometime between 1861 and 1887. The Rijksmuseum holds it now. Tell me more about your feeling of intimacy. Curator: It's in the vulnerability, I think. She's nude, absorbed in a book, oblivious. It’s not provocative so much as deeply personal, a stolen moment. I almost feel like an intruder looking at the bare woman...but that has been made available. Do you perceive it as the same way? Editor: The composition certainly creates that effect. Schwartze’s tonal modulations, moving from deep shadow to delicate light across the figure’s back and the pages, create a sense of sheltered quietude. Curator: The figure and its reading seems contradictory. Almost, one has been caught for doing the unreligious things... Editor: One might consider the semiotics of the open book. The text seems to be casting knowledge or reflection—juxtaposed with the unclothed form and ambiguous expression. There is clearly much tension between worlds... Curator: What you mention makes the artist question more issues than religion. The material—etching—is interesting to analyze, almost like the nude figure reading under light. Almost every shadow or marking means a struggle or reflection on a issue of any form. Editor: It adds another layer, indeed. The choice to use etching provides a particular texture, a kind of velvety darkness that swallows parts of the image and heightens the luminosity of others. Curator: Perhaps a way for Schwartze to express that conflict and hidden side to those not ready to look further and feel and comprehend such intensity in just a little painting. Editor: I agree, such that a world opens up in this tiny, quiet rectangle! It shows us that, with careful formal choices and sensitivity of meaning, simplicity can lead us to a contemplative, complex narrative.