Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene

Martin Schongauer

National Gallery of Art

This print depicts two figures: a woman on the left kneeling on a rocky outcrop in front of a standing man on the right. The woman wears long draped robes and a shawl covering her head. Her right hand is extended towards the man, while her left hand bunches the fabric of her shawl by her chest. In front of her is a small, upright container, like a jar with a lid. The man has long hair and a beard, and he stands with his body toward us and his head turned left, towards the woman, reaching one hand out to her. In his other hand, he holds a thin staff with a cross on top which appears to have a banner hanging from it, although the banner is mostly concealed by the man's body. He is draped in cloth, with part of his torso exposed to reveal a deep gash in his side. There are circular wounds on the tops of his bare feet. The background shows a rural setting with a wooden fence and a bare tree in the center, behind which are hills with more trees under a blank sky. The background of the print is off-white paper.