But t it. tellos Magdalene, in Florence -- stered by ootirely annied by t smell tity t reeks from s rank, its ras icism of penitence, you can tell ed ;pleasurequot;. tification of turally to Donatello intended to be not black but gilded, t does not ligs mood.
Nevert t some anonymous Man of tenment on tour made ted encequot;.
Penitence becomes sado-masoc is its own reward.
But it can also become kitscory of Mary of Egypt. iful prostitute until sed and spent ty-seven years of ent in t, clotook e a mouted . Mary of Egypt is clean and fresays miraculously unlined. Soucime as oucite. Ss on a rock in t, combing out er urned to sand. e can imagine tle song.
Georges de La tours Mary Magdalene yet arrived at an ecstasy of repentance, evidently. Perured about to repent -- before , alto t t of till taking care of of a Japanese ed scroll -- s just , reminding us t sron saint of of culture, not left as nature intended. used trument of y. , even as sates upon till has a claim upon her.
Unless ually c into the candle flame.
e meet Mary Magdalene in traordinary er s of precious ointment, sonisically precise it is surprising it is represented so rarely in art, especially t of teentury, so often toget beautiful net o snare men as -- it, too. All in all, ture a repentant prostitute would make.
S time, and taken off time. Noself in time, t mirror ool of rade; it ss of ty s toget noead of reflecting duplicates the pure flame.
of a candle flame. I een first tively lig o ride t ense, to concentrate my mind upon an imaginary candle flame.
Look at t is te and steady it is. At te flame is a cone of blue, transparent air; t is to look at, t is to concentrate on. , I fixed all my attention on t t of t of trated enoug, it , too.
Soon time to tirely subsumed by t my body, doo finally let t t tention rated on the flame.
Once ts snuffed itself out; to me.
Mary Magdalene meditates upon ters t