Image: Liebieghaus, Frankfurt am Main
The exhibition opens on 17 September 2026, with the Städel Museum and Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung presenting it together. It is described as the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to Mary Magdalene in the German-speaking region.
The exhibition includes more than 100 paintings, sculptures and graphic works dating from the Middle Ages to the present. Across nearly a millennium, Mary Magdalene has been depicted repeatedly in different media and eras, a diversity described as a revealing mirror of its respective time.
The exhibition opens with contemporary perceptions of Mary Magdalene and traces how her figure was repeatedly reinterpreted, reshaped and reconstructed from the earliest biblical accounts through the modern era. Its account of her changing image moves from apostle and loyal follower of Jesus to sinner and penitent, saint and, finally, modern self-determined woman used as a figure of identification.
Works by women artists receive special focus, including Lavinia Fontana, Elisabetta Sirani, Luisa Roldán, Ottilie W. Roederstein, Lotte Laserstein, Kiki Smith, Marlene Dumas and Nieves González.
