> And working in the other direction, often the clothing is part of our clue
> to identification. This is a large part of that lecture. So part of my
> answer to someone who wants to try to read an image of Mary as being
> Magdalen has to do with how we use the clothing symbols to make the
> distinction ... and in this case, the questioner wondered whether the
> artist was using the clothing either to mask the real identity of the
> woman in the portrait, or else to provide clues to it. So you see, it did
> directly relate to costume study, and to my lecture topic.
Ok, that makes sense, then. I suppose it adds another hour to the
lecture if you start discussing how one saint is hidden by another.
And where is that red brocade on the feminine-looking figure in The
Last Supper, I wonder! :-D
> I rather wish that Dan Brown had picked a saint who wasn't quite so
> central to costume study. Say, Mary of Egypt.
Except Dan Brown didn't make the "choice". The idea of Jesus and
Mary Magdalene as a couple has been around long before the Da Vinci
Code and even before "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" whose authors recently
accused Brown of plagerizing. For those who want to read more, one
interesting and down-to-earth writer exploring the relationship is
Margaret Starbird, and yes, that is her real name.
-Carol
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