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She trailed along with the tour group, clutching her purse and camera like a good tourist. They stopped in front of a painting of a young woman sitting in front of a mirror. On the table in front of her there was a candle, and a human scull.
"Here, we can see the Penitent Magdalen, painted by De La Tour in the sixteenth century. In this version the woman is wearing a white blouse and red skirt. We can see that she is pregnant-definetly a heretical image.
The tri colors of red, white and blue are the colors of the Triple Goddess of the ancient religions found in Europe, Africa and the Near East. The three aspects of maiden/sister, mother/bride and crone, are familiar to pagans but not often thought of in connection with Christianity. But you will notice that most frequently, the Virgin Mary is painted in the colors of white or blue. Originally, red had been occasionally used as well.
The Inquisition became so upset with pictures of the Madonna dressed in red that the art censor finally decreed in 1649 that it was to cease. From that point on, all paintings of the Madonna were in white or blue. The woman in red became synonomous with streetwalkers and loose women. The color red or rose is most often associated with Mary Magdalene in medieval art.
This particular saint has always been associated with sexuality. Condemned for her apparent sexual freedom, she was never the less one of the few sexual images the medieval church found acceptable. Publically condemned as a naughty, naughty girl, penitent but never quite allowed to move past her sexual sins, still thousands of naked or half naked paintings of Magdalene were commissioned, often painted to portray contemporary standards of beauty. "
You're right, Mary thought. I was never that pale. She giggled, and the tour guide looked at her, annoyed.
"One or two actually show Magdalene flogging herself for her sins."
Mary cracked up. A few people turned around to glare at her.
"Madam, please…" the tour guide snapped.
"Do you think she and Jesus lived an alternative lifestyle?" Mary asked. "She went around calling him Master all the time. Or do you think she was on top? I can picture her in a leather bustier…except they didn't have those in the first century so she'd wear something that's the equivalent. What do you think that would be?"
"Madam, I do not know," he said, miffed. "As I was saying, the Magdalene paintings carry a hint of the medieval church's double standard concerning sex. Chastising a woman for being sexual, yet hanging naked portraits of her in their homes. Portraits of Mary Magdalene are rarely done in blue or white. If there are no questions, we'll move on to the Impressionists. "
After the tour, Mary stopped in at the museum café for a latte. She got it to go, and drank it out of a styrofoam cup as she walked down the street. A boutique advertised a sale, its doors were flung open to be more welcoming to foot traffic. Mary absently threw her drink in a trash bin and stepped inside. She was greeted by a dazzling selection of semi formalwear, in a rainbow of colors and fabrics.
Mary sifted through the racks, and stopped to admire a pale blue cocktail dress. The dress next to it was knee length and blood red, with a slit all the way up the thigh. Which one would she buy today? Couldn't she have them both?
Mary fingered the hem of the dress and bit her lip.
"Mademoiselle? I'd like to try on these dresses, sil vous plait."