The Magdalena by Donatello

Several artists painted or sculpted the image of Mary Magdalene. Perhaps it was a thrill to portray a saint almost in the nude, with just hair hanging to the hips to cover her modesty. Most of these dramatize the Magdalene as a voluptuous beauty. But Donatello's statue of the Magdalena is very different.

A friend who looked at this picture thought that the statue was aged and worn by weather. But no, Donatello described the Magdalena like this, scarred and gaunt. This is the face of a woman you might see in the Tenderloin. Her arms are sinewy and strong, those of a desperate survivor. When academics speak of Renaissance "humanism" they usually are referring to the excitement Renaissance scholars felt for Greek and Roman classics. But Donatello's statue makes me think there was genuine feeling for humanity among some humanists.