#onorio marinari

[sculppp]

Onorio Marinari (1627–1715) Saint Sebastian, detail.

[paintinghq]

Judith with Head of Holofernes, Onorio Marinari, Oil on Canvas

[everything-on-red]

mini-essay on mary magdalene in crime and punishment haha

painting: "the penitent magdalene" by onorio marinari

i'm not sure if this was intentional, but in crime and punishment, dostoevsky seems to subvert the whorification of mary magdalene.

think about it--the first time we meet sonya, it seems obvious that she will be a mary magdalene figure, since she's a prostitute. we assume she will, like the common narrative we are told about mary, exhibit faithfulness to raskolnikov and bear witness to his resurrection. to a certain extent this holds true. but sonya does so much more than bear witness to a self-induced resurrection of raskolnikov.

in a way, this allegorical vision of sonya as mary magdalene and raskolnikov as jesus christ simply plays into raskolnikov's pre-existing delusions of grandeur. as a matter of fact, it is sonya's compassion and unwavering ability to see the good in raskolnikov that brings about his resurrection. she is not mary--she is the christ figure, and raskolnikov is lazarus. (side note: mary is often portrayed wearing scarlet, while sonya's iconic shawl is the opposite color, green.)

despite the fact that we see sonya as a version of mary magdalene, she is not the one who needs to repent. raskolnikov needs to repent. in fact, this idea of mary magdalene as a whore and repentant sinner comes almost wholly from a speech by pope gregory I circa 591 AD, in which he conflates mary magdalene with an unnamed "sinful woman" who anointed jesus' feet (and, interestingly, with mary of bethany, lazarus' sister). this obsession with female impurity and repentance is indicative of larger sexist trends in the christian church, and i think it's quite impactful that sonya is allowed to be a christ figure, and that raskolnikov's crimes of violence are portrayed as a more severe blight on his soul.

sonya reads raskolnikov the story of lazarus the first time he visits her apartment, and it is an intimate scene exploding with anxiety and pain and compassion. she is the one to save him, not through strength, nor even through purity, but simply through love.

tl;dr sonya semyonovna fucking rocks.

p.s. sorry if the lack of capitalization makes this kind of hard to read, i started with this gimmick and i've got to stick to it.

[venustapolis]

St Cecilia Playing the Organ (Onorio Marinari, 1627 - 1715)

[carloskaplan]

Santa Cecilia, de Onorio Marinari

[froggyfriendsworld]

Mater Dolorosa by Onorio Marinari

[twobrothersatwork]

Onorio Marinari, Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

PowerPoint slide by R&M.

[burniture]

Salome, Herodias, Executioner with the Head of John The Baptist, oils & gold leaf, 6x6 thick canvas

(Based on Onorio_Marinari_ Salome_with_the_Head_of_Saint_John_the_Baptist-2003.117.1-_Minneapolis_Institute_of_Arts, c. 1670)

[thanos-the-dad-titan]

Um, it is...art.

Salome with the Head of Thanos

[diioonysus]

flower crowns + art

[flowerytale]

Saint Cecilia (detail), attributed to Onorio Marinari (1627–1715)

[lahija-del-molinero]

Onorio Marinari Mater Dolorosa ca. 1670-80

[simena]

Onorio Marinari (detail)

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist - Onorio Marinari // Salome with the Head of John the Baptist - Carlo Dolci // Cassandra - Florence + the Machine

[siguelaluzazul]

Saint Sebastian by Onorio Marinari (1627-1715)

[writteninverses]

onorio marinari, santa cecilia