Elizabeth Zelasko
The Conversion of Mary Magdalene
Size:8x10
Quantity:
The Conversion of Mary Magdalene, by Elizabeth Zelasko,
was commissioned by Avodah in 2022.
THINGS TO MEDITATE ON.
*The image reads left to right. Mary is being called out of sin and into a new life. You will
see symbols of death on the left and symbols of life on the right.
*You see the tomb on the upper left. Dry and broken bones. These are the symbols that
Mary Magdalene carried during a life of sin.
*The human skull on the bottom left has been stoned to death by sin; a death that Jesus
saved Mary from. Not only physically but spiritually.
*The laid down stones represents the sins committed by Mary but also of the sins
committed by others against her.
*Mary is wearing the colors of lent and penance but there is a glow of red as she is lit up
from her encounter with Christ. Red is the color she will wear in icons that depict her
has a saint.
*In many icons Mary has six strands of hair showing. This represents her lack of
perfection as seven is the number of perfection.
*Her body language is one of imitating Christ. This is what she will do after her
encounter with him. She is almost not even aware that her hands are imitating him. Her
gaze is intensely caught up in his. She becomes Christlike.
As we move to the right you will notice life.
*Christ has drawn a line in the sand. Some scholars have speculated that he was
perhaps writing the sins of others. This is possible. The same word in Greek is used
here for “writing in the earth” as was used when speaking of God “writing the law into
the tablets” for Moses. I find that most interesting. Moses came down and smashed the
tablets after having caught God’s people in an act of adultery. The same sin that Mary
has been found guilty of.
*Visually Christ and the line create a perfectly right angle. His line in the sand here
represents the law. He is calling Mary to cross over this line into a new life.
*He meets her where she is at, and reaches over this line lovingly to help her. Their
hands a bit reminiscent of Michelangelo’s creation scene. This is the creator reaching
down to his creation and saying, “Follow me.”
*The oil jar and red eggs represent the symbols of her new life that she will pick up,
carry and be remembered by. In iconography Mary is shown holding these things- the
oil jar for the costly nard that she anointed Jesus with and red (for the blood of Christ
and new life) Easter eggs as she is the first one to see Jesus after his resurrection from
the dead.
*At the top of the canvas you see a tomb for death and as you move to the right there
are mountains. Mountains in iconography always symbolize the spiritual journey
upwards towards God and reaching new heights. The often look like stairs for this
reason. They are never shown as coming to a perfect peak because even creation
bows down to its creator.
*Sin and death are a desert and Christ is the oasis that teams with life and living water. I
have added plant life behind Christ to illustrate this point.
*As is typical in iconography, the 14K gold sky is the light from the new Jerusalem.
*Please note that your order is fulfilled by Printful on museum-quality matte paper. Images will arrive in a mailing tube and will need to be flattened out and framed as desired. The cropping of all images is completed by me and may vary from size to size. As such, your print may appear slightly different than the image posted here.
was commissioned by Avodah in 2022.
THINGS TO MEDITATE ON.
*The image reads left to right. Mary is being called out of sin and into a new life. You will
see symbols of death on the left and symbols of life on the right.
*You see the tomb on the upper left. Dry and broken bones. These are the symbols that
Mary Magdalene carried during a life of sin.
*The human skull on the bottom left has been stoned to death by sin; a death that Jesus
saved Mary from. Not only physically but spiritually.
*The laid down stones represents the sins committed by Mary but also of the sins
committed by others against her.
*Mary is wearing the colors of lent and penance but there is a glow of red as she is lit up
from her encounter with Christ. Red is the color she will wear in icons that depict her
has a saint.
*In many icons Mary has six strands of hair showing. This represents her lack of
perfection as seven is the number of perfection.
*Her body language is one of imitating Christ. This is what she will do after her
encounter with him. She is almost not even aware that her hands are imitating him. Her
gaze is intensely caught up in his. She becomes Christlike.
As we move to the right you will notice life.
*Christ has drawn a line in the sand. Some scholars have speculated that he was
perhaps writing the sins of others. This is possible. The same word in Greek is used
here for “writing in the earth” as was used when speaking of God “writing the law into
the tablets” for Moses. I find that most interesting. Moses came down and smashed the
tablets after having caught God’s people in an act of adultery. The same sin that Mary
has been found guilty of.
*Visually Christ and the line create a perfectly right angle. His line in the sand here
represents the law. He is calling Mary to cross over this line into a new life.
*He meets her where she is at, and reaches over this line lovingly to help her. Their
hands a bit reminiscent of Michelangelo’s creation scene. This is the creator reaching
down to his creation and saying, “Follow me.”
*The oil jar and red eggs represent the symbols of her new life that she will pick up,
carry and be remembered by. In iconography Mary is shown holding these things- the
oil jar for the costly nard that she anointed Jesus with and red (for the blood of Christ
and new life) Easter eggs as she is the first one to see Jesus after his resurrection from
the dead.
*At the top of the canvas you see a tomb for death and as you move to the right there
are mountains. Mountains in iconography always symbolize the spiritual journey
upwards towards God and reaching new heights. The often look like stairs for this
reason. They are never shown as coming to a perfect peak because even creation
bows down to its creator.
*Sin and death are a desert and Christ is the oasis that teams with life and living water. I
have added plant life behind Christ to illustrate this point.
*As is typical in iconography, the 14K gold sky is the light from the new Jerusalem.
*Please note that your order is fulfilled by Printful on museum-quality matte paper. Images will arrive in a mailing tube and will need to be flattened out and framed as desired. The cropping of all images is completed by me and may vary from size to size. As such, your print may appear slightly different than the image posted here.
