This dissertation focuses on the development of devotional images of
Mary Magdalene, in Venice and Rome during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, pertaining to the reform of prostitution. Although the Magdalene has a
rich history in Christian tradition and art, my examination focuses on images of
the Penitent Magdalene, both alone and in a group, related to the campaign
against prostitution in early modern Italy. Images discussed in this dissertation
include: Religious chapbooks dedicated to the subject of the Conversion of the
Magdalene (Figs. 1, 2), analyzed in conjunction to their secular counterparts,
prints and moralizing broadsheets dedicated to the Lives and Miserable Ends of
Prostitutes (Fig. 3); Carlo Caliari¿¿¿¿s Madonna and Child, Saint Mary Magdalene
and Convertite for the Venetian Casa del Soccorso (Fig. 4), examined in
opposition to Gaulli¿¿¿¿s frescoes at the Casa Marta in Rome (Fig. 5) and Guliegmo
Cortese¿¿¿¿s Christ in the House of Mary and Martha (Fig. 6); and two prominent
versions of Titian¿¿¿¿s Penitent Magdalene created for Vittoria Colonna and Cardinal
Federico Borromeo (Figs. 7, 8). The cities of Venice and Rome are the focus of
my analysis, representing in microcosm the Italian peninsula and efforts to reform
prostitution there through the use of Magdalene imagery.
The approach of my dissertation emphasizes a range of patronage,
including the open market, corporations, and influential individuals. My purpose in
this dissertation is to present a comprehensive study of the complex purposing of
the Magdalene¿¿¿¿s image as a religious model and a social model for the
reformation of prostitution in Venice and Rome from 1500 to 1700. The years
1500 and 1700 are the parameters of this investigation, coinciding with the
introduction of syphilis in the early sixteenth century and the incarceration of
prostitutes at the end of the seventeenth century. It is my conclusion in this
dissertation that Magdalene imagery in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
can be inextricably linked to prostitution reform, and that the images presented in
this study were created in order to persuade, reinforce, and assist the intended
viewer to participate in the popular campaign to decrease prostitution in early
modern Venice and Rome.