Blog #1 Renaissance
I found this piece of work extremely interesting because of the sole fact that it is carved out of wood. Though it looked frightening at first I came to appreciate this piece of art because of the complexity and details that are found in the work.
The artist Donatello also known as Donato di Niccolo di Betto Bardi was an Italian sculptor. Born around 1386 to a wool merchant in Florence, he spent his early years in a goldsmith shop. He later worked with Lorenzo Ghiberti who was also his mentor. Donatello was also lifelong friends with the Medici family who provided him with an allowance for the rest of his life when he retired.
Donatello created the “Mary Magdalen” statue between 1454 and 1455. The statue is six-foot two inches tall and was sculpted out of white poplar wood. Donatello was a great sculptor, he was the most sought after artist in Italy. He was well know for his life-like sculptures.
Mary Magdalen is a woman in the bible who is known to us as a prostitute that sought forgiveness from Jesus. She received that forgiveness and became one of Jesus’ followers. Here in the statue Donatello show’s her standing with her hands put together like one in prayer. He carved her with hallowed eyes and some say it’s because he captured a look from when she was fasting. The bible tells us that she went without food living in a cave, fasting to cleanse herself from sins. 
REFERENCES:
http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/donatello.htm
http://www.artble.com/artists/donatello
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/florence/duomomuseo/magdalene.html
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staceyart2012 
It is amazing that a wood sculpture survived the past 500 years! I agree with your initial assessment – it is indeed frightening. I went to your resource sites and find that Mary Magdalene was a popular icon and everyone was “doing” her as the church believed that she stood for what a fine upstanding totally faithful woman would be like. Donatello’s version has her looking so worn and tired, I find it ironic that some think it may have been commissioned as a symbol of hope for prostitutes.
I am a large fan of wood sculpting, and this piece is incredible. I know nothing about biblical stories, but this one sounds fairly strange. Prostitution was viewed as a sin, and finding a statue representing an old prostitute sends an odd message.
The message that was in the story was that no amount of sin will keep you from God’s forgivness. By God granting her forgivness it showed that anyone can be forgiving once they sought it. “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9 (Holy Bible NRSV)
I had never heard Donatello did this piece of art. She is made to look very beaten up and scary looking. It is interesting that Donatello was known for his “Life like” sculptures because then that makes you think…was Mary Magdalen actually that tall? 6’2″!!! If so then boy was she a tall women. Either way this sculpture is amazing. So much detail in a wood sculpture. I also agree with Jean’s comment above that it is amazing that a wood sculpture could last that many years. I enjoyed reading about this piece of art. I just wish that there was more of the story behind this piece in your post. Great job though:)
I also found this to be a very interesting piece. The sculpture appears as if it could be in a modern day horror film. Creating such a sculpture out of wood takes great skill. A person has to be able to portray emotion using precise detail. To see that this sculpture has not deteriorated throughout the years is also an accomplishment in its self.
Woodworking is such an amazing form of art. To be able to carve such intricate and life like features out of a tree has always fascinated me. You are very right at first glance, this carving is almost terrifying, but I think that is the way the artist wanted it portrayed. Here is a tired, weary woman doing what seems, is begging for forgiveness for her sins. She is not portrayed as a heavenly figure, she is willing to sacrifice herself in order to repent her sins, something that is not easily done. I think he captured her perfectly, a tortured soul wanting to make a change for the good.
This piece of artwork is frightening at first sight, but you brought it justice. It does take a lot of talent to produce a wood sculpture. Admittedly, I haven’t read the bible, but learning about the characters in it is very interesting to me. A couple punctuation and grammatical errors, but other than that, great job!